Shatter Point
by Darth Brando
Summary: Part 5 of Doctor Who: The Hunger Games Series. It was a trap. A cunning trap that we fell into so neatly. But who would have seen it coming? Who could have guessed, even suspected, that we had been manipulated from the second we had landed in the Arena? And now it might be too late. Our mistake may cost us not only our lives, but the lives of everyone who helped the rebels.
1. District 12

I stand in the plaza in front of District 12's Justice building. Around me are several hovercraft from 13 that are here to evacuate the people of 12. Unlike in my Universe, the Capitol has left 12 alone, though the leadership of 13 believes it won't last long. That and the Doctor had outright refused Coin's offer, and refuses to officially join the rebels. So they have to find more creative ways of making it seem like he's with them. That's why they sent us, myself, Peeta, and the Doctor, to assist with the evacuation.

But the people don't want to leave. I can't blame them. I wouldn't want to leave either. Though that may have more to do with Prim still being alive here. She and Catnip's mother were some of the few that left 12. Gale's family is gone too. Catnip and Gale were only here long enough to help their families evacuate. They left several hours ago, returning to 13 before heading to District 8. Ever since they left, we haven't been able to convince anyone else to leave.

Finally I gave up and returned to the plaza to sit and think. It isn't my first choice of location – I would rather be in the woods or my house in the Seam – but I'm waiting for Peeta while he visits his family. He wanted to see them alone, and I can't blame him. They all died in our Universe and sometimes he cries out for them at night as I still cry out for Prim and my father. Though I'm not sure how he'll deal with seeing his parallel. Then again, his won't try to kill him.

My thoughts are interrupted as the Doctor sits on a crate next to me. "Humans," he grumbles. "You lot are so . . . stubborn."

"That's part of it," I say. "But of all the Districts, Twelve is the smallest and we're the ones that caused the fewest problems for the Capitol. Well, most of us. I caused a lot of trouble."

I spot Peeta leaving the bakery. He makes his way towards us, looking grim. "They won't leave," he says, shaking his head.

"What about the other you?" I ask.

Peeta shakes his head. "He wasn't there," he said. "They thought I was him and correcting them would have been too difficult to explain."

"There's no guarantee the Capitol will bomb them here," the Doctor says encouragingly. "They haven't yet at any rate."

I hear a commotion coming from the far side of the plaza. It sounds like someone yelling. "This sounds promising," the Doctor says excitedly before bounding off. Peeta and I wearily follow him. If it makes the Doctor excited, we're probably going to end up running for our lives soon. This thought is punctuated by the sirens around 12 going off. I shudder when I hear them. They remind me of the day my father died.

I shove the thoughts out of my head as we pass out the hovercraft. I see the rebels scrambling aboard hovercraft, packing the few supplies they unloaded, but mostly they scramble aboard their assigned hovercraft. At the center of it is Boggs, calmly issuing orders. He spots us and runs over.

"Radar just picked up a large force of hovercraft coming this way," he says. I feel dread course through me like adrenaline, but cold and paralyzing. "Orders are to evacuate immediately. We don't have enough troops to hold them off. We need you to get aboard the hovercraft immediately."

"No," says the Doctor. "These people are in danger. Even saving one of them is worth the risk."

"We won't risk you Doctor," Boggs says. "You're too valuable."

The Doctor looms over Boggs. "So are these people," the Doctor says. "All of them are valuable."

Boggs just nods. "You have five minutes," he says. "We can't wait any longer. We'll meet you in the meadow." He boards the hovercraft, followed closely by the few families and individuals that decided to leave. Of the 8,000 people in the District, maybe 100 have evacuated. And that's a generous estimate.

"Come on," says the Doctor. "We need a plan."

"Can you build something?" I ask.

The Doctor shakes his head. "Not in the little time we have. The best thing we can do is leave a clear path."

"How?" Peeta asks.

I notice a large stack of paint cans against one of the shops. I point to it. "We can make arrows that point the way to the meadow," I say.

The Doctor grabs a can and pulls a paintbrush from somewhere in his jacket. "You two split up and warn everyone," he says. "I know how to get to the meadow."

The three of us split up. I knock on door after door, giving the same message. Capitol hovercraft are coming to bomb 12. Run for the meadow or die. Most people slam their doors in my face before I can give my message. But I refuse to give up. Because I might be able to save someone and saving one person is better than saving no one. As I continue spreading my message, I become aware of a droning sound. The hovercraft are getting close.

As I'm running across the street, I catch a glimpse of the hovercraft. They're far away and look like a flock of mechanical geese. But they're fast, and I know we're out of time. "Run!" I scream, hoping that someone, anyone, will hear me. "Run for the meadow!"

That's when the first of the bombs drop. The explosions are powerful enough that flaming shrapnel rains down on me. Pieces that land on buildings light the coal-coated buildings on fire. It doesn't take long before most buildings are burning. People flee in every direction, thinking only of their own survival. Several flee to their homes and shutter their windows, as if the thin coal covered walls will protect them from the bombs and fire.

But it's the screams will haunt me for the rest of my life. I forget that these people are from a Parallel. These are my people. And I am witnessing their deaths. I can only watch as the bombs and fires wipe them out. I can only stand and watch the destruction. Once again, I'm helpless against the power of the Capitol. Helpless to do anything but die.

I force myself to look away from the destruction and focus on escaping. The smoke is getting thick, making it hard to see, but the Doctor made the arrows very obvious. I don't know how he did it, but he's painted hundreds in the little time we had. I focus on them and run away from the bombs, away from the flames and smoke and death. I watch as others, the lucky few that fled in time, run towards the meadow. It seems at least that our warning has done some good.

Finally, I clear the smoke, but I don't stop running until I trip over something and crash into the ground. Coughing, I force myself to sit up and look back at District 12. The entire District is engulfed in flames. I see a few figures attempting to flee, but very few of them make it far. The few that crawl out of the inferno sport terrible burns and cough violently as they try to purge lungs choked by smoke. Others help drag them the rest of the way into the safety of the rebel hovercraft that waits for us in the meadow. Around it, I see only thirty or forty people that survived. Of over eight thousand people, this is all that remains of 12.

I see Peeta staggering out of the flames, helping another man escape. I brave the choking smoke to help them the rest of the way. Both collapse to the ground, coughing violently. A rebel medic passes me a water bottle and I take a grateful swig before passing it to Peeta and the man. Then I sit and catch my breath as Boggs joins us.

"How many?" Peeta asks.

"Only forty-three so far," Boggs says, shaking his head.

"So few?" I ask in disbelief. I can't believe that so few survived. But I feel anger too. If they had listened to us, they wouldn't have died so needlessly.

"It's still more than if we hadn't warned them," the Doctor says as he joins us. He looks around sadly. "But it isn't enough."

Loud crashing sounds mark the collapse of burning buildings. I look back at District 12 to see the buildings collapsing into flaming ruins. Peeta wraps his arms around me, and I bury my face in his shoulder. I'm in so much pain both physically and mentally that tears wont' come. Instead, I grip Peeta's shirt tightly because if I let go, I let go of myself.

"I'm so sorry," the Doctor says sadly. I accept his sympathy. Because he too has seen his home destroyed. Has felt the gut wrenching sadness and anger it causes.

"Doctor," I croak. "I know this isn't our Universe, but we have to stop them. We have to stop the Capitol."

"Don't worry," the Doctor says as he looks back at the flames. His expression is one of cold rage. "I plan on causing all kinds of trouble."


	2. District 13

District 12 is gone, again. Imagining it's destruction in my Universe was bad enough. But now I have seen it. I have witnessed it's destruction, heard the screams, seen the buildings and people burning, and smelled the stench of burning flesh.

As the hovercraft flies away from the ruins of 12, Peeta and I cling to each other, sharing our pain. Though I think it's worse for him than me. He's lost his family for the second time. But this time has to be worse because he had a chance to save them and he's failed. I realize that I never offered to help Peeta save his family in our Universe. As usual, I had thought only of myself.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"It's not your fault," Peeta replies.

"No, I meant I never offered to help you save your family," I say. "If we ever get back to our Universe, I'll help you. If it can be done I'll help you save them."

Peeta takes my hands in his. "Thank you," he says softly.

The Doctor takes a seat next to me. "I'm sorry about your home," he says. "Or your other home really."

"It wasn't your fault," Peeta says. "We should have seen it coming. We were the ones who have been through this before."

"Still, losing one's home and family. . ." the Doctor falls silent. His expression is one of extreme sadness, but it only lasts a moment and is quickly replaced by his normal expression of detached amusement. "I wonder if they'll let me fly the hovercraft. I've never flown one before." He bounds off towards the cockpit, probably to bother the pilots.

"We're going to die aren't we?" I ask.

"Probably," Peeta says. "Unless the pilots are smart enough to keep him as far away from the controls as possible."

"May the odds be in their favor," I say. "He'll try to touch everything."

Fortuitously for everyone aboard, the pilots are wise enough to not let the Doctor fly the hovercraft. He comes back to us looking pleased though. "They said I could fly it in an hour," he says.

Neither Peeta nor I mention it's only a 45 minute trip. As the Doctor joins us, I can even feel the hovercraft descending. Within a few minutes the hovercraft is landing in the hanger. "I should have known they gave in too easily," the Doctor grumbles. "That's the last time I ask for permission."

As we disembark, Boggs informs us that we've been summoned to Command. Wearily, and wanting nothing more than to curl up and scream in frustration, I follow Boggs to Command. Not that I need him to lead me, it being in exactly the same spot as in our Universe. The only difference is that it's on the other side of the hall.

Being across the hall from where it should be, the room is a mirror image of the one in our Universe. It's disconcerting at first, but stranger things have happened to me recently. I'm finding strange things are easier to get used to. I'm not entirely sure I like it. And I haven't found much to enjoy about travelling with the Doctor. So far I've almost been eaten by a Neovenator, the Weeping Angels tried to kill me, the Cybermen tried to convert me, and we crash landed in the middle of the Quarter Quell. No, there hasn't been much to enjoy about travelling with the Doctor, even though I genuinely like him. I hope the whole running for my life every other day changes soon, but I have to remember I'm doing this for Prim, my father and now Peeta's family.

Boggs ushers us into Command, so I take the seat between Peeta and the Doctor, who props his feet up on the large table that takes up most of the room. Coin wrinkles her nose in disgust, but doesn't comment. Instead she calls the meeting to order.

"We wanted you here to see this," she says grimly. "The Capitol broadcasted it right after District Twelve was bombed." She presses a button and the large screen against the wall turns on. I gasp at the image and I sense more than feel Peeta stiffen next to me.

On the screen is an image of Peeta. He sits on a chair, clasping his hands in his lap. He looks gaunt and his eyes are red and puffy like he's been crying. But it doesn't look like he's been tortured. I think he may have seen live feed of 12 being destroyed, combined with seeing his double and it's causing him a lot of distress. I know how he feels.

Coin presses a button and the clip starts playing. "My name is Peeta Mellark," the parallel Peeta says. "I was a citizen of District Twelve until rebel bombers destroyed it." He hesitates, and I see tears forming in his eyes. But he takes a deep breath and continues speaking as clips of hovercraft bombing 12 appear on screen. "Is this who you want to ally with? The people who will murder an entire District because they refuse to help the rebels? You have to reconsider before it's too late. The Capitol will still offer you the hand of friendship and protection if you reject the rebels. If you don't, the rebels will inevitably destroy everything you hold dear. Help us. Help yourselves. Join the Capitol and unify Panem against the devastation the rebels will leave behind."

With that, the Capitol's anthem blares and the seal appears on the screen. I share a concerned glance with Peeta and the Doctor. It seems that the Capitol knew of Peeta's oratory skills, or somehow learned about them.

"Something's wrong," the Doctor says. He leaps from his seat and starts pacing the room. No one interrupts him as he ruminates. "How would they know to get him? He wasn't in the Games here. There's something obvious. Something I'm missing, I can just feel it. What am I missing?"

"A coincidence perhaps?" Finnick suggests.

"That's a hell of a coincidence," the Doctor responds. "And I don't believe in coincidences. I've been around long enough to have learned that there's always more to it."

"Maybe they captured him when they saw Peeta in the Quell," I offer.

"It would make sense," Boggs says.

Peeta shakes his head. "My family, or rather his family, didn't seem worried at all," he says. "He was captured recently."

"Why wait though?" the Doctor asks.

"Maybe Capitol agents were waiting in Twelve and saw him," I say. "They had to get the footage from somewhere right?"

"And he seemed distressed enough to have witnessed the destruction of Twelve," Peeta concludes.

"Okay, assume they did see him and saw it as an opportunity," the Doctor says. "Why would they suddenly make him their spokesman?"

"They would be stupid not to," I say. "Peeta has a way with words. He can inspire people, or make them afraid."

"Yes, but how would _they_ know that?" the Doctor demands. "It doesn't make sense and I don't like it."

"Like it or not, right now we have to do damage control," Coin interjects. "The rebels know Peeta is with us, and an apparent defection won't help the cause. We need Peeta to counter what the other one said." Coin at least seems to have accepted the Doctor's story about us being from a Parallel. There's a preponderance of evidence to prove it's the truth. Or, more likely, is going along with it because she won't risk losing the Doctor by calling him mad or a liar. "Doctor, we'll also need you to officially announce your allegiance to the Rebellion."

"If you want me to be a part of the Rebellion, I do things my way," the Doctor says. "I don't take orders, and I don't kill."

I can see Coin weighing the Doctor's value verses the cost of his demands. The rebels need him, but Coin doesn't want him to have enough power to become more of a threat than he already is. "We can utilize your knowledge of technology," Coin finally says. "We need someone to broadcast our propos to the Districts and, if possible, the Capitol. You won't have control over military matters, but you would be free to do whatever it takes to accomplish your job."

"I need a few things," the Doctor says.

"Tell me what you need and you'll get whatever we can spare," Coin says.

The Doctor takes his feet of the desk and starts drumming it with is fingers. "I'll need a pot of coffee, access to whatever network the Capitol uses, Peeta, Katniss, Jammie Dodgers, and a fez," he says.

"You'll have the access you need," Coin says. "Peeta and Katniss we can easily send with you. The coffee we usually save until we need it, but we can get you a cup. As for the rest of it, I don't know what they are. Are they devices you need?"

"They're delicious snacks," the Doctor says. "Except the fez. That's a hat. Though, thinking about it, I could make an edible fez."

"Doctor," Coin interrupts before he can continue his pointless ramble. "Please try to focus. This is of the utmost importance."

"Yes, of course," the Doctor says, still clearly thinking about an edible fez. "I can't do much until I have something to broadcast."

"We can get that done in a few hours," Plutarch says. "We need Peeta to meet us outside the ruins of the Justice Building in an hour. We already have an idea for what we need you to say. We're going to have you repudiate what the other you said."

With that decided, Coin ends the meeting. Before I leave command I ask Boggs about the progress of the evacuation of 8.

"It's going well so far," he says. "Most of the people in the hospital have been either spread out or brought here. If the Capitol attacks, the people are spread out enough that they'll suffer minimal casualties."

Relieved by his answer, I follow Peeta and the Doctor to the dining hall for dinner. Peeta and I wave the schedules on our arms over the scanner while the Doctor just uses his screwdriver on it. The food plops down on our trays. Tonight it's mashed turnips, an apple, and some sort of beef broth. The Doctor looks forlornly at the meal. "We could have crash landed anywhere in space and time and we ended up here," he says. "The place with the worst food in the Universe."

"Shut up and eat your apples," I say as we take a seat at a mostly unoccupied table.

"Apples are rubbish," the Doctor grumbles. "I hate apples." But he does as told and remains silent as he eats. When we finish eating, we leave the dining hall and head outside. We have to take the lift which usually requires a key, but the Doctor just uses his sonic screwdriver on it. I need one of those. "Doctor," I say. "When we get back to the TARDIS could I have a sonic screwdriver?"

"If you want one, I have a few older ones that work," he says. "They aren't as powerful as this one mind you, but they do more or less the same thing."

"I'll take it," I say feeling pleased with this turn of events. With as useful as the sonic screwdriver is, having one would be an advantage in any situation.

The lift opens and we step outside. Plutarch, Fluvia, and a camera crew are waiting for us. Plutarch ushers Peeta to a spot in front of the Justice Building. Fluvia talks to Peeta, probably about what he needs to say, while the cameras are readjusted.

When everything is ready, Plutarch nods and Peeta starts speaking.

"My name is Peeta Mellark," Peeta says. "The other Peeta is a Capitol impostor. The truth is that the Capitol bombed District Twelve. They murdered over seven thousand innocent men, women, and children. Fewer than three hundred people survived and are now here in District Thirteen. The rebels are not your enemy. The Capitol is our enemy. The Capitol which has sent your children off to die every year. The Capitol that lives in excess, never wanting for anything while your children starve to death."

Peeta starts pacing, waving his arms for emphasis, but he never looks away from the cameras. "If we don't join together and fight the Capitol they will continue to oppress us, the people of Panem. We must join together to throw off the shackles of oppression the Capitol has bound us with. We have to show them that we're stronger than they think. We have to show them that this country is ours and we're taking it back. Join us. Help us fight for a better tomorrow. Help us make the dream a reality."

Peeta falls silent. As always, I'm amazed by his oratory skills. "Cut," Plutarch says, looking pleased. He turns to the Doctor. "We have camera crews in other Districts sending us video we can interweave with the dialogue. We'll have some video for you within the hour."

Peeta rejoins me and the Doctor as we head back for the elevator. "That was brilliant," the Doctor says. "The last human I met that could use words like that was Shakespeare."

"Who?" I ask.

"Shakespeare," the Doctor answers. "Probably the greatest writer in all of human history. Well, him or Rowling. Though I am fond of Orwell. And Dickens. And Christie. Okay, so I know a lot of humanities greatest writers."

As we're about to get in the lift, Plutarch's communicuff beeps. He looks down at it and frowns. "We're wanted in Command," he says.

"Does Coin miss me already?" the Doctor asks, adjusting his suspenders. "Really, she should go for someone her own age."

"She probably is your age," I say. "She's easily in her mid-thousands."

The Doctor shoots me a dirty look. "I'd rather kiss a Carrionite," he says as the lift descends.

"But think of how long lived your children would be," Peeta says.

The Doctor shudders. "Having children with her?"" he says. "Horrifying."

But it clearly makes the Doctor awkwardly uncomfortable, so Peeta and I tease him about it until we get to Command. The atmosphere in the room is tense, and Peeta and I fall silent, sensing something is wrong.

"You called?" the Doctor asks.

Coin turns her slush grey eyes on us. "It's Catnip and Gale," she says. "They've been captured."


	3. Leaving 13

I'm not sure that I've heard right. _Catnip and Gale captured? _I think.

"How?" Peeta asks.

"They were captured in Two," Coin says.

"You sent them to Eight though," I say, confused. Last I knew they were in 8 to film a propo and to help with the evacuation.

"I did," says Coin. "But we immediately sent them to Two to assist with the liberation and the destruction of the Nut. They were successful in both objectives, but they were captured by a squad of Peacekeepers fleeing the Nut. Catnip attempted to assist an injured Peacekeeper and was captured by his squad mates. Gale immediately attempted to free her, but was subdued before our soldiers could assist him. The Peacekeepers took a hovercraft that somehow escaped the Nut's destruction. President Snow has already broadcasted a statement about their capture and as we speak Catnip and Gale are being taken to the Capitol, likely to be interrogated."

I shudder. Interrogation at the Capitol equals torture. If the Capitol here is exactly like the one in our Universe, they've spent decades perfecting torture methods. It is likely that both Gale and Catnip will be kept alive. But the state they'll be in when we find them . . ."What do we do?" I ask. I do not want to think about the agony they will endure.

"We need you to take up the role of Mockingjay, and to film a propo showing that you are alive and well," Coin says to me. "We're working on spreading the news that your doppelganger was captured so you can step into the role of Mockingjay without raising too much suspicion. You've said you've already done it before, so it should be easy to do so again."

Easy is the last thing it will be. I can't act to save my life and shouting a few defiant lines at a camera isn't going to convince anyone that I'm the real Mockingjay. Everyone in Panem would have at least seen there were two Katniss, and without Gale the propo will never convince anyone that I'm the real Mockingjay here. I consider telling Coin not to bother, but she won't listen to anything I have to say on the matter. Catnip and Gale's only hope is that the officials in 13 figure out how terrible I am at acting and that they need to rescue Catnip.

Coin turns to the Doctor before continuing. "Doctor, we need you to air both propos across all of Panem as soon as possible. As we speak, Plutarch is editing the propo with Peeta. The second he's done, I want it broadcasted. The same goes for the Mockingjay propo."

"What about Gale and Catnip?" Peeta asks. "We can't just abandon them!"

Coin faces Peeta. "The fate of Gale and Catnip is unfortunate, but we can't afford the resources or people to rescue them," she says. "We'll just have to hope that they'll be alive and well when we get to the Capitol. In the meantime, we have our backup Mockingjay and we have the Doctor."

"What about Annie?" Finnick asks, clearly distressed.

"Her capture is unfortunate but, as she provides no advantage to us, we cannot risk the resources for her rescue," Coin says coldly. "Besides, she knows nothing about the rebellion so the Capitol has no reason to torture her."

"They will to break me," Finnick says. His whole body is rigid and I suspect he's doing everything he can to not break down.

"We are _not _going to leave them," the Doctor adds menacingly. "They deserve better than that."

"I'm not risking people for them when we have an alternative," Coin says.

"I'm not going to let them die," the Doctor says. He turns to Finnick. "I swear on my life I'll help you rescue her, Catnip and Gale."

Coin stands and her expression is full of pure hatred. "You _will _obey my orders," she says. "You will remain here in Thirteen and do as you're told, or it will be assumed that you are enemies of the rebellion and will be treated as such."

The Doctor coolly regards Coin for a moment. "If I'm going to do the propos, I'll need Finnick and Peeta to help me while Katniss is filming," he says.

"Very well," Coin says, seating herself. "Take Johanna too. So far she has been of minimal use to us, and I suspect that you can find some use for her."

"Fine," the Doctor says. "I need somewhere to work."

"A room has already been set aside," Coin says. She gestures to Boggs. "Take them," she says. "And make sure our new Mockingjay gets topside. Dismissed."

As the Doctor passes by Coin, I swear she slips what looks like a piece of paper in his jacket pocket. But it was so fast, that I'm not sure that's what I saw. Besides, what would Coin be passing a note to the Doctor for? Unless she's worried about a spy. I try to think of who it might be as Boggs leads us out of Command and through District 13. He leaves the Doctor, Peeta, and Finnick in a room near the hangar, but I don't have any time to examine it before Boggs leads me to a prep room. There a prep team, not the parallels of my own, applies makeup to make me look younger. I hadn't realized until now that everything I've been through aged me beyond my years. I'm only 22, but I could easily pass for 30.

When they're finished, they suit me up in a spare Mockingjay outfit. I notice with some irritation that I've gained some weight over the last 5 years too. Not a lot, but enough that the outfit is tighter than I remember it being. I really should cut back on the cheese buns I'm so fond of, not to mention the pastries that Peeta often makes. It probably doesn't help that I don't hunt as much as I used to. Instead, I fill my time with trying to find out what it is I want to do. Because without the need to hunt, I don't know what there is left to do in my life.

When the prep team finally manages to squeeze me into the suit, I'm taken to the surface. There, I'm placed in front of the Justice building and cameras are trained on me. The prep team makes some final adjustments to my makeup while Fulvia tells me to tell Panem that it was my doppelganger that was captured and that I'm actually alive and well in District 13. Almost as an afterthought, she adds to warn the Capitol that 13 is coming soon.

This is news to me, and after asking a few questions, I learn that 13 has liberated every District except 1 and 3. I'm confused as to how 13 has moved so quickly, liberating most of the Districts in not quite two months, whereas my Universe's rebellion took almost a year. Fulvia informs me that most of the Capitol's Peacekeepers are dead, captured, or surrendered and that the speed with which 13 has moved is due, in part, to the information Peeta and I gave to Coin about the Revolution in our Universe.

While I'm grateful that our information did some good, I can't help but shake the nagging feeling that everything is too easy. The fact that the Capitol knew to utilize this Universe's Peeta, is worrying. After the Doctor pointed it out, and the more I think about it, the stranger it seems. Almost like someone here knew Peeta is the one who's good with words in our Universe. Plus the Capitol capturing the TARDIS only moments after we crash-landed in the Arena doesn't make much sense either. My musings are interrupted by Fulvia announcing the cameras are ready.

I take a deep breath and focus on the red dot, trying desperately to think of something to say. "Most of you have heard that the Capitol has captured me," I finally say. "As you can see, I'm alive and well and here in District Thirteen where we're preparing for our invasion of the Capitol." I hesitate for a moment, trying to think of what else to say. Finally, I add a bit about how important it is that the Districts continue working together to overthrow the Capitol and create a better future. It isn't dazzling, but it must be sufficient because as soon as I'm done, Fulvia is sending the camera crews off to edit the video. With no further instructions, I head back to the room Peeta and I share, where I change. After that, I head back to the room where the others are waiting.

I glace around the room. It's filled with equipment I suspect has something to do with broadcasting. Whatever it is, it looks like the Doctor got to it because most of them have had the cover over the wiring removed. Looking inside, it looks like wires have been spliced together in a seemingly randomly order. _What is he up to? _I wonder as I join the others.

They ask my about the filming, and I fill them in about 13 almost having liberated all the Districts. Finnick, Peeta, and Johanna are ecstatic about the information. The Doctor takes the news without showing any emotion other than his usual one of detached amusement. "It's almost over at any rate," he says. "Speaking of which, I have something to show you all."

On the screen in front of him is what looks like a grid. I stare at it, trying to make sense of it, but I can't. "What is it?" I ask.

"It's a map of the Capitol," the Doctor answers. "And not just a road map, but it shows the interior of every building that has wiring." He pulls out a flat disc that looks like a crude holo. He activates it, and it turns out, it is a crude holo.

"How did you build that?" Finnick asks. "You were broadcasting the Peeta propo."

"Yes, and before doing so, I built this then added a program to the computer that sent out a pulse through every bit of wiring in the Capitol," the Doctor says, obviously pleased with himself. "Based on that, the program extrapolated the buildings designs. It's accurate to within one thousandth of an inch. And yes, it's okay to look impressed." He claps his hands together and grins.

"So what now?" Johanna asks, crossing her arms. She doesn't look happy to be here. Granted she almost never looks happy, but she looks particularly angry about being sent here. I have a feeling that most of that is related to being around the Doctor. Brilliant though he may be, he acts like a child sometimes which would wear on anyone's nerves after too long. And Johanna has little enough patience as it is.

"We're going to the Captiol," the Doctor answers. "And we need to borrow a hovercraft."

"And how do we get one?" Finnick asks.

"It's been . . . . arranged," the Doctor says mysteriously. As if on cue, a fear-inducing alarm blares. I know this alarm. It means bombers are on their way here, if they haven't arrived already. It means we have to get to the bunkers quickly. I'm not fond of the deep underground bunkers, but it's better than being blown to bits by Capitol bombs.

The Doctor leads us out of the room and away from the bunker towards the hangar. I don't understand, so I yell at him, telling him the bunker is the other way. I'm not sure that he's heard me, because the alarm is so loud, but he turns and mouths what looks like "trust me." So I resign myself to following him, hoping that we won't have to be scraped off the walls and floors when the bombing is over.

Since we're near the hangar anyway, it doesn't take us long to get there. The Doctor easily bypasses the security system with his screwdriver and the five of us step inside. Immediately, I know something is off. The hanger is almost completely empty when usually it's filled with hovercraft. "Where are they?" I ask, wondering if it's normal to scramble the hovercraft during a bombing. But I dismiss the idea because the hanger, like most of the District, is deep enough to escape even the most powerful bombs.

"I don't know," Johanna says. "But it looks like they've sent them all out."

"To where though?" Peeta asks.

It's a question we have to answer later. Right now we need to get out of 13. With the empty hangar, it's hard to not notice the one tiny hovercraft that the five of us will be lucky to fit in. The only weapons it has are the few sitting inside it. Glancing through them, it appears that someone has made an effort to give us the weapons we're used to. There's a pair of axes for Johanna, a trident for Finnick, a knife for Peeta, and for me, my bow with two quivers of arrows. There are also four guns with several clips, and the same number of backpacks filled with food and medical supplies.

"Who left all of this?" I ask, checking my bow for damage. Seeing none, I sling it over my shoulder.

"It's a bit smaller than I had hoped," the Doctor says, ignoring my question. "But it'll fly."

"I don't know how it will get us into the Capitol," Peeta says. "They'll still have anti-air defenses and I don't know how we'll get past them."

"It's small enough it should be able to escape detection," the Doctor says. "And I always have this," he adds, pulling his screwdriver out of his jacket.

"Are we stealing it, or are we going to sit here and chat until the guards show up?" Johanna snaps.

"We're _borrowing _it," the Doctor says as he climbs into the pilot's seat.

'Borrow' isn't exactly the word I would use to describe what we're about to do. I climb into the back with Peeta and Johanna while Finnick climbs into the co-pilots seat. With the weapons and supplies, it's a bit cramped, but it's not unbearable. Though that might change since the flight to the Capitol will likely last several hours.

"You know how to fly this, right?" Finnick asks nervously.

"I know how to fly everything," the Doctor says. He looks around at the plethora of switches and buttons. He hesitates before flipping a switch. The wipers on the windshield start sweeping back and forth.

"Well done," Johanna says. "We'll be at the Capitol in no time."

"Don't rush me," the Doctor grumbles. He flips several more switches and the engines start up. Without warning, the hovercraft jerks up into the air. The Doctor carefully navigates the hovercraft through the maze of tunnels that lead to the surface. Finally, I can see sunlight at the end of a long tunnel. But I also see the hangar doors closing. It looks like someone figured out what we're doing, or this is standard procedure during a bombing. Either way, the doors are thick enough that once they close, we aren't getting through.

"Doctor, this isn't going to work," Peeta protests. "You can't possibly make that."

"Geronimo," the Doctor says reaching for the throttle. I know I'm not going to like what happens next.

"Wait!" I yell. "Don't-"

I'm cut off as I'm thrown violently back into my seat by the hovercraft leaping forward. I can only watch in terror as the distance between us and the closing doors grows shorter. I grit my teeth, but refuse to close my eyes as we hurtle towards our fiery end. I glance at the Doctor, but he seems perfectly relaxed, like he's on a stroll rather than trying to kill us all. I look forward again and watch with growing fear as we race to our inevitable death. Suddenly the world flips on its side and the compartment floods with sunlight.

Against all odds, we have survived.

I reach forward and hit the Doctor in the shoulder. "You almost killed us!" I shout at him. I keep shouting about how irresponsible he is, and when I stop to take a breath, Johanna picks up where I leave off, adding the most colorful profanities she knows.

When we have both shouted ourselves out, Finnick speaks up. "That was an incredible bit of flying," he says.

I scowl. I do not want the Doctor being praised for being so reckless. But we are alive which counts for something. I begrudgingly give the Doctor some credit, but I let myself stay angry.

"What now?" Peeta asks.

"We fly to the Capitol, find Gale, Annie, and Catnip, then find Snow, demand his unconditional surrender and end the war," the Doctor answers. "What could possibly go wrong?"

I have a sinking feeling. This won't end well. "What couldn't go wrong?" I retort. "The Capitol is full of pods that will either kill or capture us, Peacekeepers, and citizens who know what we look like. The odds are not in our favor."

"Yes, well, I'm working on that," the Doctor grumbles.

"You didn't make a plan ahead of time?" Johanna demands.

"I wasn't entirely sure this was going to work," The Doctor admits sheepishly.

Johanna groans. "Why did I agree to this?" she asks. After a moment of consideration she says "What if we did a surprise attack?"

"We would be surrounded and killed instantly," the Doctor says.

I think for a minute. "What about disguise?" I ask. "It worked fairly well last time. Peeta, do you think you could do it?"

Peeta considers for a moment. "It isn't the same as camouflage, but . . . I think I could disguise us, at least well enough to pass a cursory glance."

With that, we spend the next two hours discussing, refining and rejecting plans for getting into the Capitol. Having done this before, Peeta and I pool our knowledge together, hoping to remember some detail that will help us get through. It's finally decided that our best bet is to sneak into the Capitol at night and try to get into the maintenance tunnels below the city. Being used by few people and containing fewer pods and cameras, it's our best bet for getting in undetected. Of course it is assumed that the Doctor can get us into the Capitol without being blown out of the sky by the Capitol's defenses.

With that decided, we all do our best to sleep. I curl up against Peeta and lay my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around me. He falls asleep quickly, but something is bothering me. Our escape from 13 was too easy. I glance at the Doctor and consider asking him, but I don't think he'll give a clear answer. Instead, I reach slowly and carefully into his jacket pocket. My fingers brush against what feels like paper. I grip it gently, and try to make as little noise as possible as I pull it out. The Doctor doesn't seem to notice, so I internally sigh with relief as I unfold the paper, doing my best to keep it hidden from anyone else's sight.

_Doctor,_

_A hovercraft with supplies has been set aside for you. When the Level 5 lock-down commences, go to the hanger and take the hovercraft to the Capitol. Rescue Catnip and Gale and stop Snow before the loss of life becomes greater. I dare not say this in Command for we fear there may be a spy in our midst. _

_-C_

I puzzle over it for a moment. It's fairly straightforward; take the hovercraft to the Capitol and rescue Catnip and Gale and capture or kill Snow. As for the bit about the spy, it doesn't really make sense. If there were a spy, wouldn't they have alerted the Capitol to our knowledge of their troop movements and what it took to defeat them? Still, if Coin, obviously C in the note, thought there was a spy, it would explain why she was so insistent that 13 had no intention of rescuing Catnip, Gale, and Annie. It would also explain why Coin sent Johanna with us, and why it was so easy for us to get out of 13.

I carefully put the note back the the Doctor's jacket pocket before curling up to Peeta and adjusting my father's hunting jacket so it's more comfortably wrapped around me. I should try to get some sleep. Going straight into the Capitol, and being with the Doctor, we will inevitably be running for our lives and I'll need all the energy I can get. I force myself to close my eyes and between the drone of the engines and Peeta's steady breathing I quickly fall asleep.


	4. In With a Bang

I don't wake up until the hovercraft descends. "We're there already?" I ask, yawning and stretching.

"Not quite," the Doctor answers. "Give it another hour."

"Why are we descending then?" Peeta asks. "The Capitol is in the mountains."

"Because the anti-air weapons won't track things if they're close enough to the ground," the Doctor answers.

"What if they can?" Johanna asks.

"We'll be closer to the ground when we crash," the Doctor answers.

"That's comforting," Johanna says dryly.

"It would increase our chances of survival," Finnick says.

"Not really," the Doctor says. "Hitting anything at our speed would probably be fatal."

"Just when I was feeling better about the odds of this working," Peeta says.

"Trust me," the Doctor says. "I know what I'm doing."

I see a flash of light outside the front window. "Lightning?" I ask. I hope it's lightning. The alternative is that we're being shot at.

"It doesn't have the right light wavelength for lighting," the Doctor answers. "Besides it doesn't taste ozoney like lightning strikes usually do."

"It what?" Finnick asks.

"Basically, we're being shot at," the Doctor replies calmly. "Please fasten your seatbelts and lock your tray tables and seats in the upright and locked position."

"Will it keep us from dying if we crash?" Finnick asks.

"No," the Doctor replies.

"Then why say it?" Johanna demands.

"It's just something to say!" the Doctor exclaims."Humans. You need a reason for everything."

The hovercraft is rocked by an explosion, then immediately by another. I grit my teeth and grip my seat tightly. Peeta wraps his arms protectively around me as if by sheer willpower he could prevent me from dying in a fiery explosion. The Doctor flies the Hovercraft erratically, probably attempting to throw off the aim of the anti-air weapons off. Add the blinding light of the explosions, and it makes me sick.

The hovercraft is jolted violently and I'm temporarily blinded and deafened as a hole suddenly appears in the side of the hovercraft. I grip Peeta tightly, burying my face in his shoulder as the hovercraft tumbles out of control. Surely we are going to die. There's no way to escape this time. The hovercraft must hit the ground because I'm jolted violently forward. I hear the scream of metal as the hovercraft skids along the ground. Sparks shoot into the interior through the gaping hole in the hovercraft's side. The end is near. We are going to die, our bodies will be twisted and mangled beyond recognition, and if we do survive, there likely won't be enough to scrape back together to make it worth the effort of saving us.

So I cling to Peeta tighter, desparate to feel his comforting touch right up to the end. "I love you," I whisper. But he can't possibly hear me over the scream of metal and the roar of air as it rips through the gaping hole in the hovercraft's side.

But we must be slowing down because the screech of metal changes in pitch and there are fewer and fewer sparks. I risk a glance up, looking through the front windshield of the hovercraft just in time to see us plow into someone's house. It's weak enough that we tear through it. Pieces of furniture, clothing, and the building itself stick to the windshield as we pass through. But weak though it was, it has slowed us down.

We tear through a second building, then a third. Finally, we come to a halt halfway through the fourth. Somehow, against all odds, we've survived.

I stagger out of the hovercraft, making sure Peeta makes it out safely before I retrieve my bow, quiver, and father's hunting jacket. By the time I have it all, Johanan, Finnick, and the Doctor have all clambered out too. The Doctor makes a quick scan of everyone before declaring that we've all made it out with nothing worse than bruises, and for Finnick, a few cracked ribs. It's a miracle. There is no other word to describe our survival against literally impossible odds.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Johanna says as she collects her axes.

"Of course I am," the Doctor says. "Otherwise this never would have worked."

"And we're going to need crazy," Finnick says as I'm bandaging his ribs.

"I almost wish my life were normal again," I comment, tying the bandages.

"Bah, normal," the Doctor says. "Normal is so . . . boring."

"We have to keep moving," Peeta interrupts. "Peacekeepers will be swarming all over here in a matter of minutes."

The Doctor pulls out his makeshift holo and studies it for a minute. "This way," he finally says. Without question, we follow him out through the hole our hovercraft made and into the street. We make it a few blocks before we break into a house. We assess our condition, but it doesn't look good. We're all battered from the crash even if we did escape without serious injury. We need to stop and rest soon, but we can't here.

We collect clothing and makeup from the house and Peeta disguises us. It's nothing as good as what Tigress did in our Universe, but it's good enough to pass a cursory examination. Fortunately it's winter which makes it easier to disguise our weapons under the layers of clothing, though it will make it difficult to get to my quiver. It takes a few hours and by the time he's done, I can see the sun on the horizon.

When we're ready, we return to the street and make our way through the Capitol. The streets are abandoned, at least here. It's probably because rebel army isn't far away. And if the rebels aren't far away, we're probably walking into a minefield of pods and an army of Peacekeepers. But the Doctor is with us, and I'm not really worried about the pods. What I am worried about is the army of Peacekeepers between us and Snow, not to mention the innumerable Capitol citizens who will recognize us from the Quell.

Our best bet is to get underground as soon as possible. No one goes down there except Avoxes, and I can't imagine they're going to be particularly helpful to the Capitol. Underground has fewer pods too. I trust the Doctor, but he isn't flawless. He could very well miss a pod that could kill one of us. I'm determined that no one dies on our unofficial mission. The Doctor is our only way home, I don't want to imagine a future without Peeta, Johanna might be irritating but she's not a bad person, and Finnick deserves the future with Annie he didn't get in my Universe.

I shake myself out of my thoughts as the five of us cautiously make our way through the Capitol streets. We stop occasionally so the Doctor can check his makeshift holo, but he usually takes us down the same street. If there are any pods, none of them have activated, and I wonder if our disguises are good enough that whoever controls the pods thinks we're just Capitol citizens trying to get supplies or valuables from our homes. Or they could just be waiting for us to get close to a particularly nasty pod so they can see whether or not it works.

When we finally get to a block with a house that contains an entrance to the underground passageways, I let myself become a little optimistic about our chances of success. Not only have we survived an hovercraft crash, we've made it this far without activating any pods or running into any Peacekeepers. Once we get underground, there will be fewer of both. We might pull this off. We just have to make it down the last block.

That's when the first pod activates, sending a hail of bullets at us. We all manage to duck out of the way, though Finnick's arm is clipped by a bullet. When I'm sure there aren't any more bullets, I check Finnick's arm. The injury is minor as the bullet only scraped the skin, but there's a lot of blood. So I pull out some medical bandages and tear off a strip that I tie over the wound. As I finish tying the knot, the ground starts to shift. We all break into a run and manage to make it to stable ground as the road we were on folds inward revealing a deep pit.

I recognize it as the one that I almost fell into in my Universe, though the one here isn't anywhere near Snow's mansion. I peer in the edge, and sure enough I see shapeless dark masses moving below. The writhing mass of darkness and the stench of rotting bodies confirms it. This pit is the same, though in a different location. Next to me, the Doctor glances in too.

"Get back!" he shouts with some alarm. None of us question him, and we back away from the pit. "Everyone count your shadows!"

Not understanding why, we count. Of course, we only have one which seems to bring the Doctor a sense of relief.

"What's down there?" Peeta asks.

"Vashta Narada," the Doctor says. "They usually live in small swarms and eat animals that are already dead. But a swarm that big would go after living organisms. They would strip you to the bone a millisecond."

"Did they come here through a bridge?" I ask.

The Doctor shakes his head. "Vastha Narada are on every planet in the Universe," he says. "They're the reason that every sentient being has a fear of the dark. Because somewhere inside your brain, you know they're there, lurking the darkness, waiting to devour you."

"Will they follow us?" Finnick asks with a nervous glance back at the pit.

"No," the Doctor says. "They usually stay in the darkness. And I suspect that they're fed well enough that they have no reason to leave."

That's when another pod activates. This one lobs a giant fireball at us. I tackle Peeta and cover him as best I can. As the fireball passes over my head, I feel the heat burning the back of my neck. Then it's gone and the entire street shakes as the fireball explodes against one of the empty houses. The explosion is so powerful that it sets off other pods in the area. Spears explode out from some potted plants and embed themselves in the wall on the other side of the street. A jet of flame blasts from a porch-light and ignites another pod that releases a swarm tracker-jackers which are killed by the jet of flame.

A purple cloud pours out of a street lamp. More and more of it pours out until it's impossible to see anything behind it. I struggle to my feet, before helping the others up. But I don't take my eyes off the ominous purple cloud. Whatever it is will kill us, I have no doubt of that. But for now it seems contained, so we slowly back away from it. As I step backwards, one of the tiles I step on depresses and the cloud swarms towards us. I turn and run, knowing only that I must escape this cloud.

We run for several blocks before the cloud peters out. Finally we can stop to catch our breaths. I look back at where the cloud was. Anything it touched is corroded. Streetlamps are twisted at bizarre angles, walls are full of giant holes, and doors are gone, the only evidence that they ever existed being the twisted doorknobs, pins, and bolts. Whatever the cloud was, it would have killed us in seconds.

I don't have time to take much more in because the Doctor is urging us onward. "We're almost there," he says. "Just a little further." I hope so, because I don't know how many more of these pods we can survive.

"Why can't you just shut off the pods like you did during the Quell?" Johanna demands as she dusts herself off.

"They've been deadlocked," the Doctor answers grimly. "The sonic won't work on anything that's deadlocked."

"What a useless piece of rubbish," Johanna grumbles.

"Oi!" the Doctor exclaims. "Don't diss the sonic. It's cool."

I'm not sure what the temperature has to do with anything. But I don't have time to ask because another pod goes off. This one is a bomb and the explosion throws me into a wall. The force is powerful enough that the wind is knocked out of me, leaving me dazed. Then Peeta is there, helping me up. "Inside!" he yells, dragging me towards one of the brightly colored Capitol houses. Johanna and Finnick cover us as the Doctor uses his screwdriver to open the door.

When we're all inside, I lose track of Finnick and Johanna as Peeta leads me to the couch and sits me down. The Doctor checks me , probably to see if I have a concussion. When he starts asking questions, I answer them easily. Finally, he seems satisfied. "You don't have a concussion," he says as he stands.

I stand too and we all take a couple minutes to look through the house for any supplies. We find some cans of food hidden in a secret cupboard under the stairs. We discover it on accident when Finnick accidentally twists what seems like a decorative knob at the foot of the stair's railing. We add the food to our supplies before we toss our tattered Capitol clothing into the trash chute. Though our clothing underneath survived unscathed, our Capitol clothes were damaged by the pods to the point that they're little better than rags. And going underground, the Capitol disguises would only encumber us. We can only hope that we find more when we come back up.

When we're ready, we find the maintenance shaft and descend into the maze of tunnels below the Capitol. Ever since the incident with the Weeping Angels in Delphi, I hate being underground more than I did before. I tell myself that there are no Angels here. At least I hope there aren't because I don't think I could handle another encounter with them.

I imagine them, lurking in the dark. Their stone eyes full of hate, and their cold stone hands reaching towards me, reaching out to end my life. I shudder. "Doctor," I ask, trying to forget about the Angels. As if that were possible. "How far do we have to go?"

The Doctor consults his makeshift holo. "Quite a ways," he says. "If we want to avoid most of the pods we need to go down to the lowest level before coming back up right beneath Snow's mansion. There's an underground passage that leads right into his basement. Probably an old escape route that was forgotten. Of course, it could be caved in but it's the safest path."

Great. Not only do we have to be underground, we have to go deeper. In my Universe we never went lower than this because we were attacked by giant lizard-mutts. I hate going deeper, but it also means fewer pods. Looking at the Doctor's makeshift holo, there are no pods in the lowest level of the tunnels. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. On one hand, there could be something else down there, like a cave-in or a horde of mutts which would negate the need for pods. On the other, the underground is a convoluted maze. If anyone made it down there, they would likely be there on accident and probably wouldn't find their way out which would also negate the need for a pod. But I can't think of a better plan. So when we find a ladder that descends into darkness, we climb down.

I don't know how long we climb down, but it's easily ten minutes before I reach the bottom of the ladder. Unlike the higher levels, the bottom is not well lit so we pull out the flashlights that were packed in our bags. When I turn on my light and point it at the wall, I shriek in alarm and fall backwards, dropping my flashlight. The others turn to where I had been looking and their flashlights illuminate a jumbled pile of human bones. I'm embarrassed that I reacted so poorly to something so harmless, but the way the light reflected off a skull, it looked like an Angel was sitting there, waiting for us.

"Are you sure you won your Games?" Johanna asks, picking up the skull. "You're a bit jumpy for someone who claims to be a victor."

"Sorry," I say. "It just took me by surprise."

"Obviously," Johanna says. She tosses the skull over her shoulder. I can't see where the skull lands, but I hear it shatter, either against the floor or the wall.

Peeta helps me to my feet and takes my free hand with his. It's comforting to know he's here with me. I'm liking this place less and less with every passing second. I would rather face the pods on the surface than be down in this tomb. At least on the surface I could see the sun. Down here, the floor is covered with human bones, at least around the hole.

"Where did they come from?" Johanna asks.

"Probably an Avox," Finnick says. "Most of them are forced to live down here. When it rains or floods, the ladders probably get slippery. The other Avoxes can't help them when they fall. No one on the surface cares and the ones working down here usually don't have any medical supplies to help them. So they usually die."

"You said they live down here?" I ask, looking around in horror. Compared to this place, the Seam is luxurious. At least in the Seam we could see the sun and breathe fresh air. Here, there is no sun and the air, though cool, is stagnant and smells of rot and mold.

"Not all of them," Finnick says. "But a lot of them, especially political enemies of the Capitol and those considered too unsightly to be on the surface are sent down here."

I never realized that the Capitol had done this. Or maybe it is only in this Universe. Either way, my resolve to stop the Capitol is the same as it was during my Revolution. I grip my bow a little tighter, grit my teeth and step forward, determined to get to Snow's mansion as soon as possible. That's when I step into the trap.

It's a giant net that falls from the ceiling. The sides are weighted down with large rocks. And all five of us are caught in it before we can react. We struggle, but to no avail. The ropes that make up the net are too thick and we can't get a good hold on the rocks that hold it down. Johanna flails with her axe, trying to sever the ropes, but she almost kills Peeta when her axe strikes the ground mere centimeters from his neck.

"I think I can get us out if I can get to my screwdriver," the Doctor says.

"I doubt it," Peeta says flatly. "We have company."

I crane my neck as best as possible to see what he's talking about. Stepping from the shadows are Avoxes. They look less than happy to see us, and they all hold crude spears. Needless to say, the sharp ends are pointed at us.


	5. The Avoxes

The Avoxes circle us, giving me a chance to get a better look at them. Unlike the Avoxes I've seen, these ones have a rougher appearance. Their clothes comprise of the fur of unidentifiable animals, their hair is long and tangled, and their fingernails are ragged, yet oddly clean. But their eyes have a sunken appearance and burn with intensity. Unlike the well-groomed Avoxes on the surface, the ones down here seem almost feral.

One of them makes a quick series of hand gestures. Another does the same. It takes me a moment to realize that they're having a conversation. Somehow the Avoxes down here have developed their own language. I focus on them, trying to see if I can understand, but the gestures mean nothing to me. One of them, a younger man, gets exasperated and weaves his hands into complex patterns even more rapidly.

"That's not very nice," the Doctor comments. "They're lovely people. Upstanding humans and all."

The Avoxes stare at the Doctor. An older man hesitantly makes a series of gestures. "I speak everything," the Doctor responds almost smugly.

The Avoxes glance at each other and converse for a moment. "How do you understand them?" Peeta asks.

"I told you, I speak everything," the Doctor says. "Or in this case, I can read everything. Though, technically I'm not really sure which it is. It's not really speaking per se, but it isn't writing. Blimey, that's confusing."

The oldest of the Avoxes, a thin, bald man with a thick grey beard that reaches down to the middle of his chest, signs something to the Doctor. "No," the Doctor replies. "We're here to end the war before more lives are lost."

"We're going to free Panem from the tyranny of the Capitol," I add, assuming the old Avox is asking what we're doing down here.

The Avoxes regard me for a moment before one of the women, probably my age, signs something to me. "She wants to know what the Capitol will be replaced with," the Doctor says. "She also wants to know what the Capitol has done to you to make you turn on them."

I struggle to sit up. The net makes it difficult, but I manage to get into a sitting position. I look into the woman's eyes as I answer her questions. "We're going to form a Republic," I say. At least that's what I assume since that's what we did in my Universe. I doubted it would work at first, and initially it wasn't prefect, but we figured it out. "Everyone will vote for their leaders rather than having them chosen for us. And people are free to take whatever career they want, to live where they want. The Games won't exist anymore."

I look around at the others as I continue speaking. "The Capitol made me and Peeta part of their Games," I say. "They were responsible for my father's death. They stood by and did nothing while I and my little sister almost starved to death. They destroyed my District and they tried to destroy the people I love." I feel the old rage that never truly died bubbling up to the surface. "I promise you, whatever it takes, I will bring Snow and the Capitol down."

I don't add that this will be the second time I've done so. That might make things more complicated than they need to be. That and I don't think they would believe me. Especially because I'm not sure I believe it, and I'm the one going through it.

The woman turns and signs something to the older woman. She nods, and gestures something too. The Avoxes all surround us. "What are they doing?" Finnick asks. I notice him grip his trident a little more firmly. Not that he'll be able to use it, being tangled up in the net. Still, it's comforting to have the weapons. I don't think I'd be as calm as I am in this situation if I didn't have my bow.

The Avoxes reach down and lift the net off of us. Johanna and Finnick scramble to their feet, keeping their weapons in a semi-defensive position. I get up before helping Peeta reattach his prothstetic leg which had come off when the net fell on us. When it's secure, I help him to his feet.

The oldest Avox holds out a hand and signs something with the other. "They want us to hand over our weapons," the Doctor translates.

"No," Johanna says, gripping her gun a little tighter with one hand and her axe a little tighter with the other. "They'll murder us the second they have what they want."

The old Avox signs again. "He says they only want the guns," the Doctor says. "You can keep everything else if you'll accept the compromise."

Reluctantly, we hand our guns to the Avoxes. But we're just as deadly, if not more so, with the weapons we do keep. With that our guns in their hands, the Avoxes lead us through the endless twisting maze of tunnels. If we had to get out, I don't know that any of us could find the way.

"How do you survive down here?" Peeta asks.

The girl that's my age signs and the Doctor translates "They're self sufficient," the Doctor translates. "They have snares and traps, like the one that caught us, to catch the giant rats that live down here. The rats are their main source of food. As for supplies, they pick through the Capitol's trash. And they don't need a light source since it's somewhat lit down here. Granted it's not much better than being in the dark, but they adapted."

"That's it?" Johanna asks. "You cower down here and eat rats? You don't kill Peacekeepers or Capitol citizens no matter how much they deserve it?"

The girl signs. "They help other Avoxes escape," the Doctor translates. "Usually the ones that work underground. The Capitol doesn't look too hard when they go missing. And they don't kill very often because the Capitol would start paying attention if people kept turning up dead."

"That's not a good reason not to kill them whenever you have a chance," Johanna growls. "There must be hundreds of you down here. You could take over the Capitol yourselves."

"She claims there are no more than fifty Avoxes down here," The Doctor says, translating the girl's signing.

"How do you survive?" Johanna demands.

"They have to work together," the Doctor translates. "Everyone has several roles to ensure they do survive. Also, we're getting close."

As we get closer, the lighting gets better until we no longer need our flashlights. It seems that here at least, the Avoxes maintain the lighting. As I round a corner, I get a glimpse of the Avoxes' camp. It's in a massive man-made cavern. Along the left wall is a row of tents or huts made of materials probably discarded by the Capitol. As a result, the camp is a riot of colors, seeming almost festive in comparison to the dull grey walls of the tunnels. Across the tunnel from the camp is a massive river that I assume feeds the demands of the Capitol above.

I don't have much time to examine anything else because the Avoxes that brought us here usher us towards the camp. As we get closer, others come out from the ramshackle buildings. They watch us warily, but don't make any threatening moves. The oldest Avox in our group walks up to an equally old woman and the two converse while the Doctor translates.

"He's telling her what we told him," the Doctor says. "How we're here to stop the Capitol, etcetera. She's just asking questions about our story and he's answering them."

After a few minutes, the old woman paces around us, sizing us up. The way the others watch her, I get the feeling that she's the matriarch. She's the one we need to convince of our intentions if we want any help. She signs rapidly.

"She wants to know why we would risk becoming like them, if not worse, to rebel against the Capitol," the Doctor says.

"Because the Capitol is evil," Peeta says. He looks around at the assembled Avoxes. "Because they've hurt people like you for years, and will continue to hurt people unless we stop them. Because if we don't stand up for what's right, then we are worse than the Capitol. Because saying nothing says we agree. And we do not agree. We want to make the world a better place for everyone. And that world can only exist if the Capitol does not. And this is your chance to fight back. To show the Capitol that they haven't broken you, but have instead made you stronger. You can help us defeat them."

The matriarch signs again. "And how will you do that?" the Doctor translates.

"We kill or capture Snow," I say. "If we don't, then the loss of life will become worse once the rebels enter the Capitol. We want to prevent as many of those deaths as possible." I think of Prim as I speak. I may have failed her in my Universe but here, there's still a chance of saving her. And I will not let that chance go, even if I have to storm Snow's mansion single-handedly.

The matriarch tilts her head to the side and mumbles something unintelligible before signing her response. "She says that they will help us get into Snow's mansion," the Doctor says. "But her people will not get involved in the fighting in case the rebellion fails."

"But why?" Johanna demands. "If the rebellion fails, what's the point? You can't stay down here forever. The Capitol will find you one day and then what? You can't help anyone if you're dead!"

The matriarch faces Johanna and signs her response. "I have made my decision," the Doctor translates. "We will allow you to stay until nightfall at which time we will help you get into Snow's mansion. No more, no less."

Several of the Avoxes bring out several sets of Peacekeeper armor. But there are only four sets. But it might be to our advantage. Someone can pretend to be our prisoner or come up with a clever cover story so it won't be suspicious if we travel to the prison cells. The Doctor immediately volunteers to go without the armor. Since we still have several hours, we opt not to put on the armor until we have to.

"How did you get ahold of these?" Johanna asks.

The matriarch signs again. "These four got lost while in the tunnels," the Doctor translates. "The discovered our camp and left us no choice but to kill them to prevent them from telling the Capitol that we exist. The story from the Capitol was that they were killed by mutts that live down here."

"Okay, so we have the Peacekeeper's armor," Finnick says. "It's still going to be difficult for us to get in and out. There are too many of them inside Snow's mansion."

"At night, there are fewer Peacekeepers patrolling," the Doctor says, translating the matriarch's signing. "Act like you know what you're doing and they shouldn't challenge you. When night falls on the surface, we will take you to the staircase that leads to a food pantry in the mansion."

"What about these?" Johanna asks, waving her axes.

"Snow collects weapons," the Doctor says, translating the matriarch's signing. "And the mansion is undergoing some renovations so it isn't uncommon for Peacekeepers to be drafted into helping move the weapons." I don't remember any sort of renovation or Snow collecting weapons in my Universe. It's possible he did, but I never found any in my Universe. To be fair, I never managed to explore the entire mansion. Still, I can't shake the feeling that it seems almost too convenient too simple a solution for our problem.

"How long has he been doing that for?" I ask, suspicion creeping into my voice.

The matriarch shrugs and shakes her head. I take it as an 'I don't know'.

"What about finding the prisoners?" Peeta asks. "It's a big mansion."

The matriarch signs and the Doctor translates. "She says one of them used to work in the mansion and knows where the prisoners are kept."

That, more than anything, could prove invaluable. The Doctor may have Snow's mansion mapped out on his makeshift holo, but we would never be able to find Catnip, Gale, and this Universe's Peeta without attracting too much attention. If we know where they are, it makes it easier to plan something. At least that's what I hope.

The Avox in question turns out to be the girl that's my age. The Doctor activates his makeshift holo and pulls up the map of Snow's mansion. She takes us through the map and, through the Doctor's translation, shows us where the prisoners are, and how to get there. In addition, she shows us Snow's private quarters. These at least, I've been too before so I'm somewhat familiar with them. We spend the next hour or so refining our plan. It's fairly simple. We rescue the prisoners, break into Snow's collection of weapons and take what we need, then we go after Snow.

With that decided, we unroll some sleeping bags the Avoxes lent us and try to get some sleep. While we're unrolling the sleeping bags, the Doctor wanders off without telling anyone what he's up to. From what I've seen of him, he doesn't need much sleep. It's yet another reminder that he isn't human no matter how much he looks like one. But I trust him and I assume whatever he's doing will help us succeed tonight. So I curl up in a sleeping bag with Peeta.

But I can't sleep. Instead, I stare at the grey ceiling and listen to the rush of the river. Finally, I give up and crawl out the sleeping bag. I sit, propping my back against the stone wall and check over my weapons. My bow, amazingly, suffered no damage other than a few scratches on the wood. But I lost one of my two quivers in the crash. The one I have left has twenty arrows total, but four of them are broken beyond repair. As for the gun, I don't think the Avoxes will give those back to us, but I don't blame them. They still don't completely trust us.

When I'm sure everything is in order, I sit next to Peeta and gently trace the features of his face that are as familiar to me as my own. The Games and the Rebellion have aged us, Peeta more than me since he was tortured. But when he sleeps, the lines disappear and he looks younger and far more peaceful than he ever is while awake. I look up as Finnick crawls out of his sleeping bag too.

"Couldn't sleep?" I ask softly.

He shakes his head as he sits next to me. "I'm too worried about tonight," he says. "About what could happen."

I nod in agreement, but don't comment. "Do you really think we can do it?" Finnick asks. "Get into Snow's mansion and save Annie and the others?"

I feel a pang of guilt. I had totally forgotten about Annie because I was more focused on stopping Snow for a second time. "Of course we can," I say with more optimism than I really have.

"I hope you're right," Finnick says softly. We sit in silence for a few minutes and I adjust my position so I'm more comfortable. Finally Finnick continues. "In your Universe, the Parallel or whatever you called it, are Annie and I . . . happy?"

"You and Annie had a son," I say slowly.

"Then we're happy?" Finnick asks, seeming relieved. "And I . . . am I a good father?"

How do I tell him I watched him die? To be fair, it was his parallel, but telling him will be very difficult. I choose my words carefully and speak to him as if I was approaching a wounded animal that is still dangerous. "In my Universe you came with us to the Capitol," I say. "But the Capitol, they released mutts that were designed to target me. And you sacrificed yourself so that the remnant of our squad could escape. But that doesn't mean it will happen here."

"But Annie is okay, right?" Finnick asks. "And our son?"

"They're alive and well," I say. "And I'll do what I can to keep you alive here. Because you and Annie deserve a long, happy future."

Finnick nods, obviously mulling over what I've told him. "Thank you," he says. "I should try to sleep."

"I should too," I say. "We're going to need to have all the energy we can get for tonight."

Finnick returns to his sleeping bag while I crawl in next to Peeta. I continue to stare at the ceiling for what feels like hours. But at some point I must fall asleep because the next thing I know, Peeta is shaking me awake. "It's time," he says.

I yawn as I crawl out of the sleeping bag. I stretch to get the blood flowing before sitting down with the others to eat before we head out. I take a can of lamb stew from the stash we raided earlier. I fold the lid into a spoon and devour the stew in a few bites. What we don't eat, we leave for the Avoxes. Regardless of what happens today, we won't need it because we'll either have succeeded, be dead, or captured.

We put on the Peacekeeper armor, with some help from the Avoxes, then check all of our gear for the last time. When we're ready, a few Avoxes lead us down another tunnel. Before I follow them, I turn to the matriarch who came to see us off. "I don't know who you are, but thank you," I say.

The matriarch signs to me and, somehow, my mind translates.

"Good Luck."

I don't have much time to take in this new development because the others are rounding a corner. If I lose them, I'll never find my way. Without a backwards glance, I jog after them while trying to adjust the unfamiliar and uncomfortable Peacekeeper armor. How anyone can stand to wear this stuff is beyond me. It's hot, hard, and restricts my ability to move. But it's too late to back out now. Besides I would never do that anyway. I resign myself to having a very uncomfortable day as I catch up with the others.

After walking for about an hour, we arrive at the only set of stairs I've seen down here. They spiral up into the darkness. This is the path to Snow's mansion. The secret escape route built and forgotten long ago. The stairs look like they could easily be as old as Panem itself. They're carved out of the natural rock and coated with moss. Most are worn down by the endless trickle of water that falls from above us and and some of them are badly cracked.

Looking up the staircase, this is going to be a long hike up, and it doesn't look very safe. Still, it's much safer than trying to make our way through the minefield of pods and the army of Peacekeepers on the surface. I steel myself as I place my foot on the first step, expecting it to collapse. When it doesn't, I start climbing, leaving the underground behind and entering the viper's nest.

* * *

**Hey all, just a quick notice. With final tests and projects upon me (yay), updating will probably be a little sporadic for the next few weeks. I apologize for this, but if any of you can convince my professors that finals are less important than this "series", that would be awesome. Anyway, I just wanted to give you all a heads up and to thank you all for your continued support and encouragement.**


	6. Two Peetas

The staircase ends at a large stone door. I cautiously push on it, but it doesn't move. So I push again, this time with all my strength. Not surprisingly, it still doesn't move.

"It's stuck," I say, stepping back.

"Let me try," Peeta says. I step aside and Peeta pushes against it. Still, it refuses to open.

"I'm going to need some help," Peeta says.

Finnick and Johanna add their weight to the door. Slowly it begins to open. But the hinges are so rusted it doesn't open quietly. Instead, the metal screeches loudly, and I'm sure every Peacekeeper in the mansion will descend on us.

Finally, they open it enough for us to slip through. To my relief, there are no Peacekeepers waiting for us. The only things in the room are thousands of crates. I open the lid of one to find it filled with bananas. I grit my teeth in anger on seeing it. If all of these crates are filled with food, there's enough in here to feed the people of District 12 for months. Or it _could _have feed the people of District 12 if the Capitol hadn't bombed it.

The Doctor reaches past me and takes a banana out of the crate. "You're eating now?" I ask incredulously.

"Of course not," the Doctor replies. "I'm just taking a banana."

"What good is a banana?"Finnick asks.

The Doctor waggles the banana at Finnick. "It's delicious, _and_ it's a good source of potassium," the Doctor says. "And you should always bring a banana to a party."

"If you're done discussing the benefits of bananas we should keep moving," Peeta says.

"Right," The Doctor says. He puts the banana in his jacket before he consults his holo. "This way," he says, leading us out of the room.

We move as quickly as possible through Snow's mansion while trying to avoid the Peacekeepers. Inevitably, we're spotted by a pair of Peacekeepers walking down the hallway towards us. My initial instinct is to attack before they can sound an alarm. But I force myself to continue walking as if I belong here. I still grip my bow a little tighter as they walk buy us, expecting them to attack or raise an alarm. But they only give us curt nods before passing us.

I sigh in relief. The Peacekeeper uniforms seem to be working. But when we get to the door to the cells, there are four Peacekeepers standing guard, all of them heavily armed. More importantly, they don't seem happy to see us. I don't think they're going to let us in, even with the uniforms.

"Only official business is allowed down here," one of them growls in a voice so deep I swear I feel it more than hear it.

"Of course we're on official business," says the Doctor pulling what looks like a wallet out of his jacket. He opens it and shows whatever is inside to them. "See?"

The Peacekeeper stares at it and scowls. "It says President Frost sent you," he says.

The Doctor flips the wallet so the interior is facing him. "Of course," he says gloomily. "I forgot the psychic paper shorted out. Still need to get a new one, but I haven't had the time. Which is ridiculous of course because I've got all the time in the Universe. In the meantime though," he puts the psychic paper back in his jacket and pulls out a small package. "Jammie Dodger?" He asks, opening the package and proffering it to the Peacekeepers.

They stare at the Doctor, clearly not sure what to make of him. Before they can decide what to do, the rest of us take advantage of their confusion and attack. Johanna hurls an axe into the chest of one. Finnick stabs the second in the throat with his trident. I take down the third by shooting an arrow through his throat. The last is only starting to bring up his gun when I shoot an arrow into his hand. He roars in pain, and drops his gun. That's leaves Johanna free to drive her second axe into the Peacekeepers head. The body crumples to the ground.

The whole fight lasted less than thirty seconds, from the moment the Doctor pulled out his psychic paper. "What was that for?" the Doctor demands. I shrink back at the expression of rage on his face. "We could have found another way!"

"They were in our way, and we didn't have time to come up with something else," Johanna says as she uses a nearby tapestry to clean the blood from her axes. "Besides, it was long overdue."

"Entire worlds have burned because people used that justification," the Doctor says. "Don't let this be one of those."

Johanna shrugs as if it couldn't possibly matter. Instead she takes a key card from one of the guards and opens the door that leads to the cells. "Are you going to help me hide the bodies or not?" she asks. "I'm not keen to have every Peacekeeper in the mansion drop by to say hello."

The Doctor scowls, but doesn't say anything else as we hid the bodies in an empty cell. Before we close the door, I take a pair of handcuffs from one of them. If we're going to capture Snow, they'll make it easier.

Then we search the cells. Peeta and I check the cells on the left while Finnick and Johanna check the cells on the right. The Doctor opens the locked doors with his screwdriver. About halfway down the hallway, I find this Universe's Peeta in a cell. Though cell isn't exactly the right word. It's more like a small, well furnished apartment. I suspect they gave this to him for doing propos for the Capitol.

The parallel Peeta sits up as I enter the cell. "Aren't you a little short for a Peacekeeper?" He asks.

"Huh?" I respond. Oh, right, I'm wearing the Peacekeeper uniform. I pull off the helmet, feeling somewhat foolish for forgetting I had the uniform on. "We're here to rescue you," I say.

"Katniss?" He asks. His expression is a mix of surprise and confusion.

That's when my Peeta walks into the cell. The two just stare at each other.

"This is . . . weird," my Peeta finally says.

"That's putting it mildly," the parallel responds. He looks wary, but not afraid. "Who are you?"

"I'm you," my Peeta says. "At least I'm you from a parallel Universe."

"A what?" the parallel Peeta asks.

"I'm you, but the details of my life are slightly different," my Peeta says. "I'm a 'what if'. But we're exactly alike otherwise."

"You're exactly like me?" the parallel Peeta asks, suspicion creeping into his voice. "Then you'll be able to answer this: Who's the one person in the world I've had a crush on for forever, but never had the courage to talk to?"

"Katniss," Peeta says without hesitation. He glances at me with his beautiful blue eyes. "I knew it from the first day of school. We were five. She had on a red plaid dress and her hair was in two braids instead of one. That day, in music assembly, the teacher asked who knew the valley song. Katniss' hand shot right up in the air. The teacher pulled out a stool and Katniss stood on it. She sang it for all of us. I remember all the birds outside fell silent. I knew, from that moment, I was a goner."

For a moment I flash back to our first Games. Peeta told me the exact same story while we were in the cave. Unlike that time, I know he's telling the truth. That he really has loved me since that day.

"Blue," the parallel Peeta says. "Her dress was blue."

"Some of the details are different between our Universe and yours," I offer. "In ours I wore red."

The parallel Peeta's eyes flick to me for a moment, probably trying to judge if I'm telling the truth or not. Unlike my Peeta's, they're hazel, not blue. It's bizarre to look into a face I've memorized every feature of and finding something different. But I can tell them apart now.

The parallel Peeta's eyes quickly flick back to my Peeta. "How did you two end up here together?" the parallel Peeta asks.

"We're married," I answer.

"Married?" the parallel Peeta repeats. For a moment, I can see a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Three years now," my Peeta says. He looks at me. "They've been the happiest three years of my life." Without comment, my hand finds his and our fingers intertwine.

The parallel Peeta looks at me. "Are you happy with me . . . er . . . him?" he asks nervously.

"Of course I am," I say, feeling a smile creeping across my lips. "How could I not be?"

"That's good," the parallel Peeta says. I see the relief in his eyes. "I'm happy for you. But why are you here? With the other Katniss as the Mockingjay, I can't imagine that you two would get a warm welcome. Especially since she was captured."

"We're here to rescue her," I say. "And to stop the Capitol."

"You're with the rebellion?" the parallel Peeta asks, his face contorting in anger. "But they destroyed District Twelve! My family is dead because of them!"

"No Peeta," I say, shaking my head. "The Capitol destroyed District Twelve. We were there when it happened."

"They told me the rebels did it," the parallel protests.

"Of course they did," my Peeta says. "They wanted to use my . . . your . . . oratory skills to convince the rebelling Districts to put down their weapons and surrender. And you wouldn't cooperate if you knew the Capitol had destroyed Twelve."

The parallel Peeta looks down at his hands for a moment, considering what we've told him. I know from the look on his face that he believes us. He takes a deep breath before turning his attention back to us. "What do you want from me?"

"We need your help," I answer. "Gale and Catnip were captured by the Capitol. We need to rescue them and capture Snow."

"They're here somewhere," the parallel Peeta answers. "The Peacekeepers dragged them out of their cells several hours ago, but I'm not sure where they were taken. There was also another girl with them. I heard her name, but I can't remember it."

"Annie?" I ask. "Dark flowing hair and green eyes?"

"That sounds right," the parallel Peeta says.

"Did they say what they were going to do with them?" I ask.

The parallel Peeta's brows furrow in concentration. "They said something about the rebels reaching the Capitol," he says. "But I don't know what they were doing with those three."

_Why would they be taken? _I think. The only idea I have is that they'll hold them as hostages. But that won't do Snow much good if he loses the Capitol. Even if he were holding them hostage, Coin would consider their deaths an acceptable cost. The only other reason someone would be removed from their cell is because –

"They're going to be executed!" I exclaim. "If they haven't been already."

"Then what are we sitting around talking for?" the parallel Peeta retorts.

I dash out of the cell, followed by both Peetas. We find the others and the parallel Peeta tells them what he told us about the others.

"Where would they be taken?" the Doctor asks.

I close my eyes and force myself to run through a list of places the others would have been taken. Fortunately, it's a short list. "The veranda or Snow's garden," I say.

"Is there a way to know for sure?" the Doctor asks.

I shake my head. "The veranda can be seen from the square, but Snow won't expose himself if the rebels are in the city," I say.

"We can split up," Finnick says. "Johanna and I can check the veranda and you can check the garden."

"No," I say. "We'll take the veranda." If Prim is with the rebellion, the veranda will put me closer to her. The closer I am, the better my chance of saving her.

I am determined that I will save her this time, no matter the cost.


	7. Snow

**Hey all, sorry this one's a little short but I'm still working on final projects and studying for tests (yay), but I thought it's better to get something up than nothing. Anyway, good luck to all of you taking your finals and such.**

* * *

We make it to the veranda without arousing suspicion in any of the Peacekeepers we pass by. But there aren't many of them. I suspect most of them have been dispatched to fight the rebellion. If they make it to the mansion, the war will be over.

I open the doors to the veranda and step outside. The first thing I notice is the sound of gunfire and the curtain of thick, black smoke pouring from somewhere in the Capitol. "They're very destructive," the parallel Peeta comments. "Are you sure you're on the right side?"

"Without a doubt," my Peeta says." Panem will become a much better place after the Rebellion. We can choose our leaders, people have enough to eat in all the Districts and the Hunger Games don't exist anymore."

"That sounds. . . nice," the parallel Peeta says. "But the rebels are still destroying the Capitol. Are you sure they won't take revenge now they have a chance?"

My Peeta shakes his head. "No," he says. "At least they didn't in our Universe. And it could be the Capitol burning the buildings."

"It doesn't matter," I say glancing around. "Either way the rebels are almost here. But there aren't any Peackeepers. Something's wrong."

"Astute observation Miss Everdeen," says a voice. "Or I suppose Mrs Mellark where you come from." I spin around to face the source. Lounging in a deck chair, casually drinking an amber liquid is Snow. I raise my bow and draw back an arrow. I make sure to aim at his heart, but I don't break eye contact. His snake eyes regard me as if amused.

"It's over," the Doctor says, storming towards Snow like a winter storm.

"Yes, it is," Snow agrees. He seems too relaxed, too confident for someone who has just been captured. I glance around to see if we've walked into a trap, but I see no Peacekeepers. "The rebellion won't end the way you want it to. Right now, there are almost two thousand Peacekeepers dressed as, and mingling with, civilians. When the rebel soldiers get to the city square, the Peacekeepers are going to open fire. And the rebel soldiers won't know who to shoot. So they'll shoot everyone."

Snow takes a moment to adjust the rose in his lapel and take another sip of his drink. I hear the ice cubes clicking together as he sips. When he lowers the glass, he licks his puffy lips in a snake-like manner. "If they start shooting civilians, the Districts will pull their support," Snow continues. "Then the Capitol can be reestablished. Even if it can't, Panem will the thrown into chaos. District will turn on District until it all burns to the ground, leaving the Capitol free to step in and take control again. All thanks to you, of course. If you hadn't been so predictable, the outcome may have been different."

"What do you mean?" I ask. "If you had known what we were going to do, you would have killed us already."

"True," Snow says. He carefully puts his drink down on the table next to him and intertwines his fingers. "But the agreement was that I follow the plan."

"Agreement with who?" the Doctor demands. "And what plan?"

"He calls himself the Beloved Ken Cuing," Snow responds. "He was very insistent that you know that." Peeta and I glance at each other in shared alarm. Cuing was the maniac from Satellite 7 who was responsible for allowing patients to be converted into Cybermen. That ended when we blew it up. Unfortunately, Cuing escaped. It seems somehow he ended up in the parallel Universe too.

"Cuing?" the Doctor asks. He seems just as confused and worried by this revelation as Peeta and me.

"An interesting individual," Snow says. "After your stunt in the Arena, I deemed you too great a threat to let live. But Cuing presented a plan that would ensure your death and preserved the Capitol. Thus far, it's worked perfectly. You've done exactly as Cuing predicted."

"What do you mean?" my Peeta demands.

"It's quite simple," Snow says smugly. "Didn't you ever wonder why everything that happened occurred? I could have given the order for you to be killed in the Arena, or had your hovercraft blown out of the sky while you were on your way here. Didn't you wonder why we captured your blue box or knew to utilize Peeta? Why we captured Gale and Katniss, but didn't immediately execute them? Or how easily you made your way through my mansion? And what about District Twelve? In your Universe it was bombed as soon as you escaped the Arena. Here, I _wanted _you to witness its destruction."

"What's the point?" I ask. "Why not just kill us? You've had plenty of chances."

"My dear Miss Everdeen," Snow says chidingly. "Cuing wanted his revenge to be more satisfying than simply killing you. He wanted you to witness the destruction of everything you hold dear before you died. Today the rebellion dies. Today, the Capitol takes back Panem."

I realize, too late of course, that everything was leading us here. I knew something was wrong. I knew it was too easy, too convenient. It was a trap. A cunning trap that we fell into so neatly. But who would have seen it coming? Who could have guessed, even suspected, that we had been manipulated from the second we had landed in the Arena? And now it might be too late. Our mistake may cost us not only our lives, but the lives of everyone who helped the rebels.

But it's not over yet.

I grab Snow's shoulder and yank him out of his chair. He falls to the ground, and, with some help from both Peetas, I lock Snow's wrists in the handcuffs I took earlier. "What are you doing?" he demands. For the first time he seems worried, and I feel a sense of satisfaction.

"Saving the rebellion," I say. I'm surprised that I sound more confident than I feel. I don't have any idea what to do about the Peacekeepers hidden among the civilians. I can't stop the rebels either, having no way to communicate with them.

"You can't possibly hope to win," Snow spits. "There's nothing you can do." Am I imagining things, or do I detect a hint of fear in his voice?

"Then you won't care if I try," I reply.


	8. Endgame

"What's the plan?" the parallel Peeta asks.

"We need to get tell the rebels they're walking into a trap," I say. "Or show the Peacekeepers that Snow's been captured."

"They won't surrender," Snow spits. "This is a lost cause."

"Then I'm going to stay right here and fight for this lost cause," I reply.

"We've beaten you before," Peeta adds. "And we can do it again."

Snow says nothing, but glowers at us with his snaky eyes. I glance around the square, trying to think of something, but nothing comes to mind.

"You've got a plan to get us out of here, right?" I turn to see Johanna, walking out of Snow's mansion. Following her are Finnick, Annie, Catnip, and Gale. The latter three look battered and exhausted. Whatever the Capitol did to them is showing. Their skin is pale, making the dark black, blue, and purple bruises appear vividly. Their eyes are gaunt and Annie and Catnip's hair is in ragged, tangled clumps. Catnip and Gale are supporting each other and Finnick has to carry Annie.

"Welcome to the party," the parallel Peeta says.

"Sorry we're late," Finnick says. "But we had to persuade a couple Peacekeepers to let these three go."

"You got Snow," Catnip says flatly.

"It's not over my dear miss Everdeen," Snow spits. "Even if your friends have captured me."

"The rebels are about to walk into a trap unless we can think of a clever way to let them know about it," the Doctor says.

I glance around the square again. "I've got an idea," I say slowly. "But I don't know if I would call it clever." Suicidal might be a better word for it. But mentioning that won't help the rebels.

"It's more than the rest of us have," the Doctor says.

"Since we're dressed up as Peacekeepers, we can get through the crowd without the disguised Peacekeepers shooting at us," I say. "If we can make it to the rebel line, we can give them the warning."

"What if they shoot you?" the parallel Peeta asks. "Or if they assume you're normal Peacekeepers and capture you without giving you a chance to warn them?"

I shake my head. "That's a risk we'll have to take," I say.

"What about Snow?" Finnick asks. "We can't really take him with us."

"Maybe we can," I turn to the two Peetas. "Find something to disguise Snow with," I order. They both dash into Snow's mansion. I turn to Johanna. "Can you knock him out?"

Johanna grins. "With pleasure," she says. She raises an axe then strikes Snow on the side of his head with the flat of the blade. He crumples to the ground with a satisfying smack.

"What about them?" Finnick asks, gesturing to Annie, Gale and Catnip. "I won't leave them."

"No," I say. "Help them through the square. They're coming with us."

Both Peetas return, carrying a large carpet between them. We roll the unconscious Snow up in the carpet, making sure he can still breathe. The two Peetas heft Snow onto their shoulders. "Ready when you are," my Peeta says.

"Let's go," I say.

We travel down the stairs and into the square. It's slow going because the crowd is so thick, but we manage to stay together. Then one of the buildings at the edge of the square explodes. "The rebels are coming!" Someone screams.

There are shrieks of terror from the crowd and they stampede towards Snow's mansion. It becomes impossible to keep pushing towards the edge despite our best efforts. In terror, the crowd pushes into us, breaking our group apart. I grab Gale, the closest person to me, as the crowd pushes us away from the others.

Instead of heading directly against the crowd, Gale takes an angle, dragging me along behind him. Somehow we make it to the edge of the square. Once clear of the crowd, he immediately starts making his way towards the rebels. I glance around, but I don't see the others.

"Wait," I say.

"Catnip, we can't-" then he looks back and realizes that I'm not his Catnip. A look of anger flashes across his face. "Where's Catnip?"

"I don't know," I admit. "I lost her when the crowd stampeded. I think she's with the Doctor." I remember the Doctor had been supporting Catnip.

"We have to find her," Gale says, heading back towards the crowd.

"And Peeta," I add.

Gale turns, "I don't care about that pampered, simpering idiot," he spits.

"He's a good man," I counter. All the rage I feel at everything that's happened comes bubbling to the surface and I direct it all at Gale. "Better than you ever were. He did everything he could to protect me while you did _nothing_ except ruin our friendship. And –" I choke.

"And what?" Gale pushes. "What could I have possibly done to make you hate me so much?"

"You . . ." I choke. "You killed Prim."

"I would never!" Gale protests, his expression of anger replaced by one of horror.

"Not directly, no," I say. "But you . . . the other you anyway . . . you made this trap . . . and Prim, she . . ." I take a deep breath before continuing. Even years later, it's a hard moment to relive. "She was caught in it. I watched her burn Gale. I watched my little sister light up like a torch because of one of your traps."

"Is that why you chose him?" Gale asks. "Is it why you hate me so much?"

"Partially," I admit. "But during the Quell, I realized that I loved him. I realized that I really do care about him."

"And the other me?" Gale asks. "Did you ever love him?"

I hesitate, but that's all the answer Gale needs. He nods sadly. "I thought it might be like that."

I say nothing else, my anger burned out. I feel so tired and I want nothing more than to curl up and sleep. In fact, the only things keeping me on my feet right now are my concern for Peeta and my determination to save Prim.

Wearily, I climb a flagpole and look around again. I spot both Peetas with Finnick and Annie a near the edge of the crowd. I wave to them and my Peeta waves back. He turns to Finnick and Annie. They have a quick conversation before moving towards us. But no matter where I look, I don't see Johanna, Catnip or the Doctor.

I slide down the flagpole as the others get near. "Have you seen the others?" the parallel Peeta asks.

I shake my head. "No sign of them," I say. "Still, we have to warn the rebels."

We leave the square and head towards the rebel lines. It doesn't take us long before the rebel soldiers find us. They surround us, keeping their guns ready. "We're here to warn you, you're walking into a trap," I say. "And we've captured Snow."

The Peetas put the rug down and unroll it, revealing the unconscious Snow.

The soldiers glance at each other, obviously unsure what to do. One of them finally pulls out a radio and says something into it. While they're waiting for an answer, the soldiers relieve us of our weapons. Finally, the soldiers get their orders. Two of them carry Snow while the rest surround us and escort us further away from the square.

We don't stop until we reach a large house that's been turned into a command station. The soldiers usher us inside and into the living room. All around us, rebels are moving around with communication and surveillance equipment. Other than the guards, they ignore us.

"What are they waiting for?" the parallel Peeta asks. "You'd think they'd be more interested in knowing about the trap they're going to walk into."

At that moment, Boggs enters the living room. He glances at us and frowns. "Boggs, you can't send the rebels into the square," I say, standing. "It's a trap."

"I know," Boggs says. "And Coin has been informed."

"So we're going to find another way?" Finnick asks.

Boggs looks grim. "No," he says. "Coin has ordered that the soldiers proceed."

"She can't do that!" I exclaim. "Anyone who walks into that square is going to die!"

"Coin is confident that, with Snow in our custody, the Peacekeepers will surrender," Boggs says. He shuffles uncomfortably. There's something else that he's not telling us.

"And?" I prompt.

Boggs sighs and runs a hand across his face. "Coin has ordered that your little group lead the rebel forces into the square," he says grimly.

"What!?" Gale exclaims. "We'll me killed for sure!"

Boggs looks miserable. "I know," he says. "I suspect Coin has deemed all of you too dangerous to be left alive. Speaking of which, where are the Doctor, Catnip and Johanna?"

"We don't know," my Peeta answers. "We lost them somewhere in the square."

"Coin was insistent that they be with at the head of the army too," Boggs says. "With any luck, they'll have the sense to stay low until this is over."

I snort. "The Doctor won't keep his head down," I say. "If anything, he'll walk into the square with a giant neon target painted on his jacket and a ludicrous plan that has no chance of working."

"I just hope Catnip is okay," Gale says.

At that moment, the prep team that got me ready in District 13 come down the stairs.

"We're moving into the square in twenty minutes," Boggs says. "Coin wanted the prep team to have enough time to clean you up enough to be ready for being on-screen."

Of course she did. Coin doesn't want there to be any doubt as to who it is that's about to die. As the prep team sets about making us presentable for cameras, I desperately try to think of a way out of the situation. But nothing comes to mind.

I keep trying to come up with something as the rebel soldiers are formed into a giant column behind us. But nothing comes to mind. A glance at Gale shows me he's thinking too, but hasn't come up with anything.

"This isn't how I thought we would die," my Peeta says.

I turn to him. "How did you think you were going to die?" I ask.

"I hoped that I would grow old with you," he says sadly. "I hoped that, one day, I would die surrounded by children and grandchildren. And you."

I hug him. "At least we're going out together," I say.

"And we're not going down without a fight," Finnick adds. He and Annie are holding each other tightly too.

"We'll make them remember us," Gale adds. He glances at Peeta and me, and I see the pain in his eyes. The sadness that I'm with Peeta and not him because of him is clear.

Peeta and I pull apart, but hold hands as we march forward through the war-torn Capitol, back towards Snow's mansion and the square where 2,000 disguised Peacekeepers are waiting to open fire on us. As we step into the square, Peeta squeezes my hand and I squeeze back.

"I love you," he says, adjusting his gun with his free hand.

"I love you too," I say, readying my bow. Our only hope is that either Snow was lying, or that the Doctor has something very clever up his sleeve.

We almost make it to the end of the square before the disguised Peacekeepers decide to reveal themselves. I'm expecting it and take two of them down with arrows before the rest start opening fire.

Chaos breaks loose as the first volley tears apart the rebel soldiers. The survivors stand in a stupor, unable or unwilling to understand what's going on. After a moment, they seem to realize that they're being shot at by the crowd. The ones at the edge of the square flee while those near the middle are surrounded. Unfortunately, we're part of the group that's surrounded.

I become aware of only firing of arrow after arrow. Dropping to the ground, or being thrown down by Peeta or Gale when a Peacekeeper shoots at me, and doing the same to them when I can. But every time I go down, it gets harder to get back up because the ground is slick with blood and slush.

I eventually run out of arrows, so I pick up a gun and start shooting with it. I forget everything except the sensation of turning, aiming, shooting, and ducking, over and over again. Finally, my gun jams. I toss it aside and start to reach for one on the ground when Peeta tackles me. A Peacekeeper shoots and a spray of bullets flies through where I had been standing. Peeta rolls over and shoots the Peacekeeper in the chest.

I grab a gun as I stagger to my feet. But we're surrounded by Peacekeepers. Their guns are aimed at us. "Drop your weapons," one of them growls.

I wonder if this is it. Our final stand. I glance at the others. Both Peetas nod, Gale grins manically and Finnick and Annie link arms. I take a deep breath and turn back to the Peacekeepers. I'm about to open fire when a plethora of guttural voices scream. I glance around in confusion. The voices sound like Avoxes, but I don't know where they would be coming from.

Then the Peacekeepers around us disappear as they're swarmed by the free Avoxes from the underground. They mostly wield clubs and crude spears, but a few of them have guns. The attack is brutal and unyielding. The Peacekeepers open fire on the Avoxes, but seemingly to no avail. The Avoxes keep coming, swarming over the Peacekeepers, killing them and taking their guns.

Finally the Peacekeepers break and retreat, fleeing towards the barricade they erected around Snow's mansion. The Avoxes stop perusing the Peacekeepers to regroup. The Doctor, Catnip and Johanna join us. Catnip throws herself into Gale's arms and I notice my Peeta wince.

I take Peeta's hand in mine. "It's over," I say wearily.

"Looks like I can grow old with you after all," Peeta says. "I'm just glad you came Doctor."

"Of course," the Doctor says. "I didn't forget about you lot. Just thought we might need some help so I popped downstairs for a bit."

"I'm glad you did," Finnick says.

"Let's end this," Gale says. "Once and for all."

"Wait," Finnick says, pointing at the barricade. "What is that?"

I look at where he's pointing and my heart skips a beat. "It's a shield," I say flatly. This is it. The human shield made of children. The place where Prim died.

"A shield of children?" the Doctor demands. Gone is his usual expression of detached amusement. It's been replaced by the look of fury that reminds me of an unstoppable inferno.

"It's more than that," I say in the same flat tone. "In our Universe the rebels used a Capitol hovercraft to drop bombs on them. But they didn't all explode. When the Peacekeepers went to help them the second set of bombs. But the Peacekeepers weren't the only ones that died. Some of the rebel medics were killed too." I notice Gale stiffen. He knows me well enough to recognize my tone of voice. He knows that something terrible happened. He glances at me and raises his eyebrows. I just nod, confirming his suspicion. _This is where Prim dies._

"Can we stop the bombs?" Catnip asks.

"It's not that easy," the Doctor says. "Not without knowing what kind of bombs they are."

"And we can't just tell the Peacekeepers," my Peeta notes. "They'd either shoot us or not believe us."

"Or both," Johanna grumbles. "Can't we just shoot them all?"

Gale shakes his head. "They're too close to the children," he says. "If we miss, we'll hit them."

"We can't just let them die!" the parallel Peeta protests.

The hovercraft appears over the barricade and drops the parachutes. The Doctor activates his screwdriver, but nothing happens. "It's dead-locked!" He yells.

Without hesitation, I dash towards the barricade just as the first wave of bombs explodes. Time seems to slow down as the Peacekeepers scramble to get to the children. I see the medics again, running towards the children. I immediately zero in on Prim. "Prim!" I scream as loudly as possible. She's too far away for me to reach in time.

Prim turns towards me. She opens her mouth to call back to me. Then Gale blasts by me so fast that I can't process what's going on. In a matter of seconds, he reaches Prim. He picks her up and heaves her away from the barricade and away from the second wave of bombs as they explode. Time freezes as Gale glances at me. He doesn't need to say anything because his eyes say it all. _I'm sorry. Please forgive me. _

Then Gale becomes a human torch.

"Gale!" Catnip screams. She tries to run to Gale but the Doctor grabs her and holds her back.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor says. "I'm so sorry, but you can't help him."

"Gale!" Catnip screams again. She struggles against the Doctor until Gale collapses, flames pouring from his body.


	9. The Assassin

The heat from the explosions vaporized enough snow that it created a thick curtain of steam that swirl around me, obscuring my vision. With the fog comes silence, punctuated only by the moans of the injured and Catnip's uncontrollable sobs. A break in the fog reveals her, kneeling over Gale's still smoldering body. Prim wraps her coat around Catnip and kneels at her side. Gently, Prim leads Catnip away from Gale's body and back to our group.

"Why did he do it?" Catnip sobs.

"Because Prim was in danger," I say. But that's not all of it. I know why Gale did it. Because he knew that it was his trap that would kill Prim and if Catnip ever found out, she would never forgive him. He would rather have died than lived with the knowledge that he had killed Prim and in doing so, would push Catnip away forever.

"I'll kill him," Catnip says, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "I'll kill Snow for this."

"It wasn't Snow," I reply flatly.

"Who else could it have been?" Catnip demands, her grief quickly turning to anger.

I point at Prim. "Someone very high up had to authorize her being in combat."

"It's true," Prim says. "Coin suggested it."

"So?" Catnip snaps.

"The Capitol doesn't have any hovercraft," I say. "They were all destroyed."

Catnip considers for a moment. She glances at Gale's body. "You're sure?" she asks.

"I know it was Coin," I say. "She did the same thing in our Universe. Because you don't fully support her. Coin wanted Prim to die here, and she wanted you to see it so that you would be fully pushed to her side."

I see a flicker of hatred in Catnip's eyes. "She'll pay for this," she growls. "I'll kill her."

At that moment, the Doctor steps out of the mist. As he moves towards us, he takes great care to step over the undersized body parts that litter the ground. His expression is one of fury, like a raging storm that will rain fire and death upon everything it its path. All of us shrink back as he draws near. "You said Coin is responsible for this?" he demands.

I nod. "At least she was in our Universe," I say.

"Come on then," the Doctor says, storming off.

"She's not in the Capitol," my Peeta says. "Not yet anyway."

"Snow and Cuing have to answer for their crimes too," is all the Doctor says.

Catnip hesitates, glancing at Gale's body. "I can't leave him," she says. "Not here."

"I'll help move him," the parallel Peeta offers.

Catnip stares at him for a moment, trying to decide if there's any underlying motive to his offer. "Thank you," she finally says.

"We'll help," Finnick says. "It's the least we can do."

"Make sure Snow and Coin pay for this," Johanna says to us.

"Count on it," I reply.

"Come on," the Doctor says, storming away.

We follow the Doctor away from the square and towards the makeshift command center. All around us, the rebels are already working to clear away the dead and the debris. I suspect they want it to look nice and clean for Coin's arrival and Snow's execution.

The Doctor bounds up the stairs to the house used as a command center and pushes open the door. Even with the war officially over, there's a flurry of activity. At the center of it is Boggs, barking orders and trying to get the Capitol running semi-efficiently again. I feel a little happy that he survived here, but the shock, anger and sadness of seeing Gale die have drowned out almost everything else.

"Where is Snow?" the Doctor demands, storming to Boggs.

Boggs frowns, but points at the stairs. "Upstairs," he says. "At least until we're sure we control the mansion. It wouldn't do to have the Peacekeepers rescue him."

Without comment, the Doctor bounds up the stairs. Peeta and I follow him into a guarded room. Sitting in the center of it, chained down and with a tracking device clamped to his ankle is Snow. His eyes narrow in hate when he sees us. "Come to gloat Doctor?" Snow spits.

"Where's Cuing?" the Doctor demands.

"Cuing?" Snow asks. "He went back to your Universe."

"Where's my TARDIS?" the Doctor demands.

"Your what?" Snow asks.

"The blue box," Peeta clarifies.

"Hidden," Snow says smugly.

The Doctor grabs Snow by the lapels and slams him into the wall. "I used to have so much mercy," the Doctor growls. "And so much patience. I have very little of both."

Snow laughs. It's a guttural sound that makes me flinch. "Are you going to kill me Doctor?" he asks, clearly amused. "Better to do it now than let the rebels drag out my trial. Everyone knows how it will end."

"No," the Doctor says, releasing Snow. "There's been enough killing."

"I knew you were weak," Snow says contemptuously. "I knew you didn't have the courage to kill me."

"There are worse fates than death," the Doctor says quietly. "And I think you've already suffered the worst punishment that could be brought on you. You've lost. Your power has been taken, and without it, you are so small and insignificant. And after you die, no one will remember you. Your name will be erased from history. You'll have never existed as far as humanity is concerned. You are, and always will be, nothing."

Snow flinches and looks away. For a moment, I see him for what he is. Still dangerous, yes. But he's also broken. "It's in my personal collection," Snow mumbles.

Without further comment, the Doctor leaves the room. Peeta and I follow him down the stairs and back into the living room. "Where's Coin?" the Doctor asks Boggs.

"Her hovercraft is landing in the square within the next ten minutes," Boggs says. "Why? Is she in danger?"

"Possibly," the Doctor says ominously. He turns and runs out the door.

With a groan, and wanting nothing more than to take a shower and sleep, I follow the Doctor back to the square. The Doctor rounds up the others and explains his plan. It's simple, but brilliant. With only a few changes, everyone takes their positions just as the hovercraft bearing Coin comes into sight. I pass my bow and one arrow to Catnip. "Shoot straight, okay?" I say. "For Gale."

"For Gale," she repeats grimly.

As the hovercraft slowly lands, rebel soldiers scramble to make orderly ranks on either side of it. The seven of us wait at the middle while Prim joins the line of medics. Eventually, Boggs and the rest of 13's leadership join us in the middle of the neat rows.

The hovercraft touches down with a soft 'thump' and the ramp is lowered. Coin walks down surrounded by an honor guard. Her face is an impassive mask, but I catch the gleam of satisfaction in her eyes. She spots us and walks towards us.

When she speaks, she addresses Catnip. "I'm sorry for your loss," Coin says. "It must be hard, losing your sister to the Capitol. Just when we thought we had won. It shows that we'll never truly understand the depths of their evil."

Catnip's face is also an expressionless mask but, being her, I catch the glimpse burning hatred and anger that smolders in her eyes. "How did you learn about it?"

Coin wraps an arm around Catnip as a gesture of comfort. "I saw the recording," she says. "I'm sorry that your sister had to die like that. It must have been horrifying."

"It was," Catnip says. She steps away from Coin. "But there's one problem. Prim didn't die."

At that moment, Prim steps out of the group of medics. I see the flicker of terror in Coin's eyes.

"She told us something very interesting," Catnip continues. "That you ordered her to be here in the square."

"What are you suggesting?" Boggs asks.

"Coin ordered the bombing," I say. "Not Snow."

"That's preposterous," Boggs says. But I hear the doubt in his voice.

"I think rest is in order for all of you," Coin says. "You should go. Before I have you arrested for treason."

"Three words," the Doctor says coldly.

"I'm sorry?" Coin asks, looking confused.

"Three words and I can remove you from power," the Doctor answers.

Coin's eyes harden. "Are you threatening me?" she demands.

"Just informing you," the Doctor says.

Coin scoffs. The Doctor turns and murmurs something to Boggs that I barely make out. "She looks tired."

"What did you say?" Coin demands. "What did he tell you? Boggs?"

"We know everything," Catnip says.

"There's nothing to know," Coin retorts. "Even if there was, I'm sure I don't know anything about it."

"You don't know anything about ordering Prim, who is underage and hasn't passed the exams yet, into the front line of combat?" Catnip pushes. "You don't know that all of the Capitol hovercraft were destroyed?"

"I will not stand for these insults!" Coin snaps. "They're lies and you have no evidence!"

"They're not," Boggs says. "She's right on both counts. Someone very high up would have to authorize Prim to be in combat. If I don't know about it, only someone higher than me could have authorized it. The only person higher up than me is you. And we confirmed that all the Capitol's hovercraft were destroyed or captured. Additionally, Snow was in our custody at the time of the bombing."

"So?" Coin demands. "It could have been a desperate Head Peacekeeper. They could have had a hidden hovercraft sitting around."

"That destroyed their only real defense?" I counter. "And didn't evacuate Snow when the rebels first got into the city?"

"We'll never truly understand the Capitol," Coin replies coldly. "Best not to."

"Why not?" Catnip pushes. "Because you ordered the bombing and don't want anyone to investigate?"

"Arrest them!" Coin shouts. "Arrest all of them!"

But no one makes a move towards us. Since we spoke out, there's been a mood shift in the assembled rebel soldiers. Where there was relief, it is now being replaced by hostility towards Coin.

"You will all be court marshaled for this!" Coin screams. She rips a gun from one of her honor guards and points it at us. "I find you guilty of high treason. Your punishment is execution."

"Be reasonable!" Boggs says. "I just want to know the truth!"

"The truth?" Coin says. "I've worked too hard for this day to let a ragged group of paranoid fools take it away from me."

"Do you swear you had nothing to do with this?" Boggs asks, gesturing to the barricade where several children's bodies still lay.

"I don't need to swear anything to you Boggs," Coin spits. "You answer to me."

"Not anymore," Boggs says. "President Coin, I hereby find you unfit for command. I am taking command until such a time as a new leader can be elected."

"Traitor!" Coin screams. She points the gun at Boggs. "You've been waiting for this all along haven't you? Waiting for the day when I was victorious so you could sweep in and take it from me. I'll see you dead before you take command."

I hear the twang of a bowstring and an arrow striking flesh. Coin stands, looking at the arrow protruding from her chest. Her mouth forms a word, but she collapses to the ground before she can speak. There is a moment of stunned silence before chaos ensues. Coin's honor guard pounces on Catnip while the once orderly rebel soldiers scramble closer to see what's going on.

In the struggle, Catnip drops my bow which I scoop up before Peeta is dragging me away. He shoves his way out of the crowd, following the Doctor. We break free, and I look back to see that a melee has ensued in the middle. I can't see who's fighting who, only that there seems to be no order beyond Coin's honor guard attempting to arrest Catnip and the others, mostly the parallel Peeta, fighting them off.

Before I can take in any more, the Doctor is pushing us into Snow's mansion. "We can't stay," he says. "They'll be alright."

I glance back one more time. For a moment, I see flashes so similar to what happened when Finnick died in my Universe. Except this time, these things haven't happened yet. I see the parallel Peeta holding Catnip's hand as they stand over a gravestone. Then them at a wedding ceremony. There are so many people there, but only a few stand out. Prim and Johanna. Finnick and Annie with their son. I see the parallel Peeta and Catnip holding their baby daughter. Finally the parallel Peeta and Catnip growing old together, wondering what became of us.

I turn away and the images fade. Without further comment, I follow the Doctor through the maze of passages until we reach a large pair of wooden doors. We push them open and waiting for us, surrounded by Snow's collection of medieval weapons, is the TARDIS.

"Hello old girl," the Doctor says affectionately, patting the TARDIS's side. "Good to see you made it in one piece." He opens the door and peeks in side. "Ha ha! Good as new!" he proclaims, turning back to us.

He glances behind me and Peeta, and the grin drops off his face. I turn to see what it is. Next to the doors, the wall is gone. Instead, there's a bridge. This one is more like the one in the arena – almost a perfect oval, but still slightly jagged around the edges. Unlike the others, I can't tell where this one goes because the interior is full of swirling black mist.

"Where does it lead?" Peeta asks.

"Somewhere in our Universe," the Doctor answers, as he scans it with his screwdriver. "But it was closed on the other side. I think this is how Cuing came and went." He closes the bridge. He fumbles with his screwdriver, mumbling to himself. Finally he puts it away and runs a hand through his hair. "The number of bridges is troubling."

"Are they bad?" I ask.

"Usually not," the Doctor answers. "But these are going throughout space and time. If they show up in the past and present of a planet, technology from the future could be taken back. Or worse, someone could change history."

"Isn't that what you do?" Peeta points out.

"I know what I'm doing!" the Doctor protests. He hesitates. "Most of the time," he adds. "But this . . . this is bad. If someone goes back to the past and changes something without understanding the consequences, everything goes wibbly before it basically explodes." he says. "It could create a chain of paradoxes that tear apart time and space until everything will cease to exist."

I think about that for a moment. "Nothing will have existed?" I ask.

"Space and time will both shatter," the Doctor says. "Nothing will have ever existed. Only time travelers, like us, would survive since the laws of time affect us differently. Even then, if the paradox is great enough we could be destroyed. Or just stop existing. Or a combination of the two where half of us stops existing and the other half blows up. That would be a first. Not that I want to try it, mind you."

But I'm not really listening to the Doctor anymore. Instead, I'm back in Delphi with the Oracle. Her words run through my mind. _Looming in your future, there is a war. A war that never was, yet a war that threatens to destroy the Universe. You must stand with the Doctor at the front line. You will be the last defense, and if you fail, then everything you know will be destroyed, and everyone you care about will have never existed._

"What do we have to do to stop it?" Peeta asks.

"First things first," the Doctor replies. "We find Cuing."

* * *

**Hey all! With Christmas just around the corner, (though I never understood how a holiday can be around a corner) the main storyline is going to be temporarily held off while I do a Christmas Special (or Winter special or whatever you want to call it). **

**Expect lots of fun nonsensical shenanigans from our favorite Time Lord and 74th annual Hunger Games victors. Just FYI, it's not part of the main storyline. It's just for fun. Also, the first chapter should be up by the time you read this. It's called "How the Cybermen Almost Stole Christmas". Once that's done, I'll get back to the main storyline which will continue in ****_Odyssey._**

**And just to give you an idea what's coming up in ****_Odyssey_****: **

**_Stone beats people every time._**

**Katniss Everdeen - Mockingjay**


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